“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
— Gautama Buddha
ABOUT ME
I'm a licensed clinical social worker working in the areas of caregiving, online pedagogy and systems change. I serve as the founder and counselor of Hand in Hand Caregiver Counseling and an adjunct professor at the Columbia School of Social Work.
With over 15 years of experience in the United States and internationally—including Cambodia, India, and Indonesia—I have practiced and trained in outpatient, community-based, and government agency settings in the areas of mental health and disabilities. My work has centered on strengthening both individual well-being and the systems that shape access to care.
I am especially passionate about supporting caregivers of older adults as they navigate the experience of caregiving, including loss, anticipatory grief, shifting family roles, and the emotional strain that often accompanies cultural expectations and stressors. Caregiving can be deeply meaningful—but it can also be overwhelming, isolating, and complex.
My therapeutic approach is warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental. I use an integrative therapeutic approach within a relational-cultural framework to offer care that is evidence-based, culturally responsive, and grounded in the power of connection. Together, we will work in a way that honors your strengths, lived experience, and values.
EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALS
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University of Pennsylvania, 2022, Doctor of Clinical Social Work
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Columbia University, 2011, Master of Science in Social Work
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Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. DC Department of Health. Credential ID: LC50080941
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Virginia Board of Social Work. Credential ID: 0904016765
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker. New York State Education Department. Credential ID: 088120
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker. North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board. Credential ID: C019529
PUBLICATIONS
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Holmes, C. (in press). Decolonizing methodologies. In J. C. Báez (Ed.), Issues of equity: Key concepts in qualitative research. Routledge.
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Holmes, C. (2023). The role of social isolation and socioeconomic systems among older adults living with marginalized social identities and locations. In B. Counselman-Carpenter & J. Aguilar (Eds.), Multidisciplinary Human Behavior in the Complex Social Environment. Cognella.
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Holmes, C. (2022). Explaining the Long-Distance Caregiving Burden of the United States Foreign Service and Military. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania]. Scholarly Commons. https://repository.upenn.edu/entities/publication/178a5d97-9afc-46bf-a8ed-cb393e480e50
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Holmes, C. & Eutsey, T. (2022). Breakout exercise for collective syllabus annotation in Adobe Connect. In M. Marquart, L.W. Marshall, R. Chung & K. Garay (Eds.), Designing Engaging and Interactive Synchronous Online Class Sessions: Using Adobe Connect to Maximize its Pedagogical Value. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/designing_engaging_interactive_synchronous_online_classes/collective_syllabus_annotation