Paula is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who provides compassionate, culturally responsive therapy for adults navigating life’s challenges. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Central Florida and is committed to creating a warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental space where clients feel seen, heard, and respected. She believes healing happens within safe, authentic relationships and emphasizes emotional safety, trust, and empowerment as the foundation of therapeutic work.
As a Latina therapist, Paula brings a strong cultural lens to her work, recognizing how identity, family systems, community, and systemic stressors shape emotional well-being. She supports clients in exploring how cultural expectations, intergenerational experiences, and societal pressures impact mental health, while honoring each person’s unique lived experience. Her approach is culturally responsive and strengths-based, helping clients build resilience and self understanding within the context of their identities.
Paula also takes a holistic and trauma-informed approach to care, integrating the mind-body connection into treatment. She recognizes the impact of stress, trauma, and life transitions on the nervous system and overall functioning, and draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), mindfulness-based interventions, psychodynamic therapy, and somatic techniques to support regulation, insight, and lasting change. Her work is collaborative and tailored to each client’s needs and goals.
Paula is affirming and supportive of LGBTQ+ clients and is deeply committed to inclusive care that honors diverse identities and relationship experiences. She also specializes in women’s mental health, supporting clients navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, chronic stress, burnout, self-esteem challenges, relationship concerns, and major life transitions. As an EMDR-trained therapist, she is dedicated to helping clients heal from trauma, strengthen emotional well-being, and cultivate more authentic, connected, and meaningful lives.