01/02/2026
My name is Harvey D. Cottrell, and I am a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist. I come to this work with years of experience across community mental health, child welfare, inpatient psychiatry, and private practice. Across every setting, my work has been shaped by one guiding commitment: to meet people as whole human beings, not as diagnoses, problems, or cases to be managed.
I hold independent clinical licensure and have been trained across multiple evidence-based and trauma-informed modalities. My background includes work with complex trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, identity-related stress, family systems, and individuals navigating major life transitions. I have worked in high-acuity settings as well as long-term relational care, which allows me to balance depth with clinical clarity.
In addition to clinical training, I am formally trained in ethical research practices and the use of structured assessment tools. I regularly integrate validated measures when clinically appropriate, not to reduce people to scores, but to support accuracy, accountability, and thoughtful treatment planning.
Serenity Integrative Psychotherapy is the private practice I founded to reflect a different way of doing therapy, one that is intentional, relational, and grounded.
From the very beginning, Serenity was built to reduce barriers to care while maintaining clinical rigor. The practice serves individuals across diverse identities and life experiences, with particular attention to those who have felt unseen, misunderstood, or oversimplified in other systems of care.
The therapeutic approach at Serenity is integrative and evidence-based, drawing primarily from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), narrative therapy, humanistic psychology, and ecological systems theory. These frameworks allow us to address symptoms while also understanding the broader context of a person’s life, their relationships, history, culture, environment, and values.
ACT helps clients develop psychological flexibility: learning how to relate differently to complex thoughts and emotions while moving toward what matters most. Narrative therapy supports people in separating themselves from their problems and re-authoring stories that reflect strength, agency, and possibility. Ecological and Indigenous-informed systems perspectives ensure that individuals are not viewed in isolation, but as part of interconnected relational, cultural, and historical systems.
Therapy at Serenity begins with a comprehensive intake completed before the first session. This allows our early work together to focus on presence, rapport, and understanding rather than paperwork. You do not need to arrive “ready” or “prepared.” The work unfolds collaboratively, at a pace that respects both safety and growth.
At its core, Serenity Integrative Psychotherapy exists to support people in doing something deeply human: making meaning, reclaiming agency, and living in closer alignment with their values. My role is not to direct your life, but to walk alongside you as you make sense of it carefully, ethically, and with respect.
Prospective Clients can book on https://serenity-therapy.clientsecure.me or email me at Cottrell.LCSW@gmail.com
