Parenting Therapists in Port Townsend, WA

Paula, is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Child Mental Health Specialist, and Art Therapist with graduate degree in Psychology and MA in Biology and Psychology. Paula has trained extensively in complex trauma, childhood neurodevelopment, attachment, developmental trauma, parent /child interactional including DIR/Floortome, PCIT, and generational trauma. Currently, children are only seen in her Port Townsend office, she does not do teletherapy with children.

You can recover your authentic self! My compassionate and accepting approach uses a variety of simple and effective techniques to help clients understand themselves, make clear and conscious choices, learn to listen to their own inner wisdom, set healthy boundaries, fulfill their own deepest needs, and become their most authentic selves.

As you are in the process of looking for a therapist, you may already be half-way through resolving your issues. It is said that client's readiness and willingness to make changes is the strongest indicator of successful therapy outcome. As a therapist, I will accompany you in the journey of actualizing your fullest potential by assisting you to develop internal and external resources such as the sense of freedom, choices, healthy sense of self, responsibility, managing life balance, and strong support systems and relationships.

The world is hard right now. The collective and individual trauma that we all face can be suffocating and lonely. Grief, anxiety, depression: they are all heavy and hard to carry without help. Maybe you've gotten help before and are back to a similar place. Maybe you are scared to reach out and share your experience with someone you don't know. Sometimes we just need a little perspective and other times we need someone who can do the hard work of helping us become our authentic self. Whatever your situation is, I am here for you. Big issue or small, you matter to me.

Have you been to talk therapy for traumatic experiences in the past only to have symptoms resurface over time? Do you feel disconnected from others or live with ongoing shame and guilt? Maybe you feel anxious, depressed, or triggered by everyday situations resulting in confusion and fear? I offer powerful somatic and mindfulness-based interventions like EMDR, Safe and Sound Protocol, and Brainspotting, along with traditional therapy, to guide you as you make use of your own innate healing properties to experience relief and wellness. I work creatively with each client to incorporate the modalities that feel safe and most beneficial.

I work with individuals, couples, and families to address issues ranging from relational conflict to the broad spectrum of mental health. Through an eclectic approach utilizing cognitive behavioral, solution-focused, and family systems-based modalities, I explore current problems within the social, cultural, and environmental context of life experiences and the impact these experiences have on both physical and mental health. I often approach the presenting issue as a symptom and endeavor to assist clients in developing an understanding of the function that problem serves and how to achieve that same function with more desired outcomes.