Paula Schoenau (She/her)

I have experience providing inclusive and affirming care to all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially trans and non-binary folx. I am poly and kink affirming and knowledgeable.

Being an immigrant myself, and providing services in Spanish and Portuguese allows me to access an increasing part of USA-living populations, the Latine/Hispanic community. I have great experience working with clients experiencing adjustment issues due to migration/acculturation, chronic trauma, childhood and adult abuse, grief and loss.

I have a certification in grief and have worked with clients experiencing acute grief due to death or living losses (job, relationship, moving, cutting off family, etc), as well as complicated grief.

I utilize PDT because I do not believe in just treating symptoms; I believe we need to work on improving symptoms while exploring the roots of the issue causing such symptoms. In Psychodynamic, we explore patterns and connections between childhood and adulthood and then, work on processing and resolving issues

Cultural awareness and humility is the center of my work; learning from clients and understanding core cultural beliefs, how they impact client’s life and presenting problems, emphasize culturally-related strength and support and validating client’s experience with oppression. I work with clients of diverse ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation and religious beliefs to accommodate and respect differences in the opinions, values, and attitudes of various cultures and different types of people

With ACT, we work on emphasizing acceptance to deal with negative thoughts, feelings, symptoms, or circumstances. ACT therapy encourages increased commitment to healthy, constructive activities that uphold your values or goals, and learning to navigate feelings instead of avoiding, distracting or numbing.