- Emotionally-Focused Therapy
- ACT and CBT
- Trauma and grief
About Paula
Paula Patterson is an LCSW licensed in North Carolina with 20 years of clinical experience. She focuses on concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship challenges, addiction, grief, and issues around intimacy and parenting.
She helps people who struggle with obsessive-compulsive patterns, self-harm, sexual assault recovery, mood shifts like seasonal affective disorder, and personality-related concerns. Her work also includes attention to ADHD, bipolar concerns, anger, jealousy, and compassion fatigue. She uses plain language and practical steps in sessions.
Paula draws on Emotionally-Focused Therapy to look at painful emotions and the patterns those feelings create in relationships and personal life. She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice what matters to them and try behaviors that align with those values. Attachment-Based and Client-Centered ideas shape how she listens and responds.
Sessions are a chance to name difficult feelings, test small changes, and build clearer ways of relating to oneself and others. Paula aims to help people reduce overwhelming reactions and increase choices in day-to-day life. She supports work on coping skills, boundaries, and handling triggers that come from past trauma.
Her practice is for English-speaking adults located in North Carolina. People who want to begin complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session to see how her style fits their concerns.
How her approaches work for online sessions
Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on identifying painful emotions and the interaction patterns they create. It is often used when people want to understand how feelings shape their responses and relationships. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people clarify personal values and take small actions toward them while learning to live with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what tends to help, then try approaches that fit those needs. Clients and the therapist check in and adjust methods as the work progresses.
Confirm the available session formats before booking because the biography does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, for example by reducing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins during a lunch break, or avoiding the need to be on camera for every meeting. Therapists and licensed professionals tend to adapt exercises and homework so they work when people are joining remotely, while focusing on practical skills, emotion work, and ways to change patterns that matter day to day.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
North Carolina
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she handle?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, grief, parenting strain, ADHD, bipolar concerns, and related problems such as OCD patterns and self-harm.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses Emotionally-Focused Therapy alongside ACT, CBT, Attachment-Based and Client-Centered approaches to help people name feelings and try different ways of responding.
How much experience does she have?
Paula has 20 years of clinical experience working with adults on emotional and relational concerns.
What are her credentials and where does she practice?
She is an LCSW licensed in North Carolina and works with English-speaking clients in that state.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English only and she is not accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session format options before booking since the biography does not list specific formats.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.