Paul Otto
(he/him)
Hello, and congratulations on taking this step. Reaching out takes awareness, courage, and a real commitment to change — and I don't take lightly the trust it requires to invite someone into your struggles. I've spent over 25 years working in behavioral health as a clinician, clinical supervisor, and clinical director. My career has taken me from a faith-based agency in New England to a community behavioral health center in northeastern Arizona, where I eventually led clinical services for 12 years, to providing counseling at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base — an experience that deepened my respect for military members and their families. I now own a private practice in Sahuarita, Arizona. My work focuses on helping individuals navigate trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, emotional overwhelm, and life transitions. I also welcome working with military veterans, people of faith, and individuals and families facing serious illness. In the spring of 2025, I was diagnosed with cancer. I have since completed treatment and am now cancer free — and that experience gave me a much deeper appreciation for what it means to face something that reshapes your world. I don't see therapy as simply treating a diagnosis. I see it as working with you as a whole person — your strengths, fears, hopes, values, pain, and goals. I'll listen carefully, but I'll also be active: helping you identify patterns, understand difficult thoughts and emotions, build coping skills, and take meaningful steps forward. I won't claim to be the expert on your life. My role is to walk alongside you and help guide the change process at a pace that feels respectful and manageable. For more about me and my practice, visit ottotherapyandwellness.com.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Starting therapy can bring up a mix of hope and nervousness — and I want you to know that both are completely normal. The first session is designed to help you feel at ease while giving us a solid foundation to build from. We'll begin by briefly reviewing confidentiality so you understand how your privacy is protected. From there, most of our time will be spent in conversation. I'll ask questions to better understand what led you to seek counseling now, how your current struggles are affecting your daily life, and what you hope will look and feel different if therapy is successful. I'll also want to learn about you more broadly — your background, significant life experiences, relationships, strengths, and support system. People are shaped by the relationships and systems around them, and understanding your story helps me understand you. I won't be rushing to reach a diagnosis or jump straight into problem-solving. The first session is primarily about understanding you clearly so we can begin building an effective path forward together. I'll also explain how I work and answer any questions you have — about the therapy process, what to expect as we go, or anything else on your mind. I want you to feel informed and comfortable, not like you're stepping into something unfamiliar. A few things I'd like you to know going in: You don't need to have everything figured out before our first session. You don't need to know exactly what your goals are or be able to explain your situation perfectly. Many people come in feeling uncertain or overwhelmed — that's okay. We'll work through it together. By the end of our first session, my hope is that you leave feeling heard, that you have a clearer sense of how therapy might help, and that you feel comfortable enough to come back. You'll also have a beginning sense of the goals we might work toward together. If you're feeling nervous about reaching out, I'd encourage you to take that step anyway. Most people feel some relief just from having that first conversation. I'll do my part to make sure it's a worthwhile one.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Over 25 years of clinical work — as a therapist, supervisor, and clinical director — have shaped how I sit with clients and how I think about change. But the experiences that have influenced me most aren't only professional ones. Growing up with family conflict, loss, family addiction, depression, and anxiety gave me a genuine empathy for people who are struggling. Those early experiences sparked a deep curiosity about psychology, relationships, and healing that has never left me. More recently, navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment gave me a firsthand understanding of what it means to face something that challenges your sense of control, your sense of self, and your vision of the future. I don't share that to make the focus about me — I share it because I believe lived experience shapes the quality of presence a therapist brings, and I bring a lot of it. One of my greatest strengths is being a nonjudgmental, empathic listener — genuinely so, not as a technique. I've worked with people carrying shame, trauma, grief, difficult histories, and complicated relationships with faith, identity, and meaning. Whatever you bring into the room, I won't flinch, and I won't judge. At the same time, I'm not a passive therapist. I'll listen carefully, and I'll also ask questions, offer observations, and help you identify patterns that may be keeping you stuck. I believe therapy works best when it's collaborative and active — when both people in the room are engaged and working toward something meaningful. Much of my work centers on helping clients change their relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions. Rather than being overwhelmed or controlled by them, you can learn to observe your internal experience with greater awareness and flexibility — creating space to respond intentionally rather than react automatically. The approaches that most shape my work include EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, and Motivational Interviewing. I also bring a genuine respect for the whole person — including faith and spirituality, if that's important to you. I've been a person of faith throughout my life, and I understand how meaningful — and how personal — spiritual beliefs can be. If your faith is an important part of who you are, it's welcome here. I'm comfortable working with clients across a wide range of spiritual backgrounds and perspectives. Finally, even with 25 years of experience, I approach each client with curiosity and openness, recognizing that you are the expert on your own life. My role is not to tell you who to be or where to go — it's to walk alongside you, help you clarify what matters most, notice what's getting in the way, and support you in moving forward in a way that feels meaningful and sustainable.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal client is someone who is ready to do meaningful work — not necessarily someone who has everything figured out, but someone who is willing to show up, engage honestly, and take steps toward change, even when it feels uncomfortable. I enjoy working with clients from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences, and I've worked with people navigating many different struggles over the course of my career. That said, the work I find most meaningful tends to center on trauma, anxiety, and depression — particularly helping people who have been carrying the weight of difficult experiences for a long time and are ready to find some relief and a clearer path forward. I especially welcome working with military veterans and their families, individuals and families facing serious illness, and people of faith who want their spiritual beliefs treated with genuine respect — not just acknowledged, but honored as an important part of who they are. I also welcome working with individuals who are navigating doubt or transition in their faith, or who come from spiritual backgrounds different from my own. Across all of that, what I'm really looking for in a client is a willingness to be curious about themselves — to look honestly at patterns, experiences, and emotions, and to work toward something better. If that describes you, I'd be glad to talk.
Specialties
Top specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma and PTSD
Other specialties
Men's Issues
Military/Veterans
Spirituality
I identify as
Christian
Man
White
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Licensed in
Arizona
Accepts
Aetna
Location
Virtual
My treatment methods
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I was first introduced to Internal Family Systems while in graduate school and have followed its development and growing research base ever since. IFS is now well-established as an effective approach for a wide range of concerns, including trauma, depression, anxiety, and even the kind of inner conflict that surfaces during difficult decisions. The core idea of IFS is that the mind is made up of distinct parts, each with its own perspective, feelings, and role. Some parts carry the weight of painful or unresolved experiences. Others work hard to protect us from further hurt — sometimes in ways that once made sense but now get in the way. Beneath all of these parts is what IFS calls the Self: a calm, compassionate core that is capable of leading the healing process. The goal of IFS is not to eliminate or silence any part of you, but to help each part feel understood and unburdened — so that no single part ends up running the show in ways that cause suffering or keep you stuck. When parts feel heard and their burdens are resolved, people often experience a greater sense of inner calm, clarity, and self-compassion. IFS has become one of my favorite approaches because of how often I've seen it create meaningful, lasting change — even for people who have struggled for a long time.
EMDR
I completed my EMDR training several years ago, and the outcomes I've witnessed since have genuinely shaped the direction of my practice. EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is a structured, well-researched approach to trauma treatment that helps the brain process painful memories that have become stuck. Rather than requiring you to talk through traumatic experiences in detail, EMDR works by engaging the brain's natural processing abilities, allowing distressing memories to lose their emotional intensity over time. What makes EMDR particularly valuable is its efficiency. Many clients experience meaningful relief in fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy alone might require. It can also be delivered effectively through telehealth, making it accessible regardless of where you live. Trauma work has become the most meaningful part of my practice, in large part because of what I've seen EMDR make possible. People who have carried the weight of painful experiences for years — sometimes decades — often find that those memories begin to feel less intrusive, less overwhelming, and less defining. Watching that shift happen is one of the most rewarding parts of this work.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT is a combination of CBT and mindfulness practices. I like to think of it as the best of the best from both approaches. What I like about it most is that it's goal is to help you live a meaningful and fulfilling life-however you define it. To do that, we help you identify what is most important to you and how you want to show up in life and then help you align those two things. In the process we overcome the emotional and cognitive hurdles that stand in the way.
Christian Counseling
While I don't hold a formal specialization in Christian counseling techniques, I bring a deep personal understanding of faith and what it means to live by religious values and commitments. For many people of faith, finding a therapist who genuinely respects — rather than merely tolerates — their beliefs makes a significant difference in whether therapy feels safe and worthwhile. My first seven years as a clinician were with a private Christian-based organization, where I worked alongside clients for whom faith was central to their lives and their healing. I also served as a missionary for two years in Venezuela and have held a variety of leadership roles within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including leading a congregation. Faith has not been peripheral to my life — it has shaped who I am and how I understand people, suffering, meaning, and change. If your spiritual beliefs are important to you, they are welcome in our work together. That might mean drawing on your faith as a source of strength and resilience, exploring questions of meaning and purpose, working through guilt or shame within a spiritual framework, or simply knowing that what you believe won't be treated as a problem to solve. I won't impose my beliefs on you, and I recognize that each person's spiritual life is deeply personal. My goal is simply to make sure your faith is treated with the respect it deserves. I'm also comfortable working with clients across a range of religious backgrounds and traditions, as well as those who are navigating doubt, transition, or complicated feelings about faith.
12 ratings with written reviews
June 5, 2026
I appreciate the willingness Paul has to share about himself. I can also tell he is listening attentively. I think he is measured, steady and a calming influence. He has provided a lot of good ideas to my various concerns and his experience reflects well on what I hoped it would from his profile.
Verified client, age 25-34
January 16, 2026
I feel very blessed to have someone like Paul who has the skill of guiding me through my mental health without controlling the reins himself, but allowing me to self discover my inner voice and what it intends for me. It hasn't been a full 3 months yet, but I already feel happier in my life and better equipped to navigate the challenges I experience. The person who started this journey is so proud of who I'm becoming and is glad she made the choice to begin.
Verified client, age 25-34
November 7, 2025
As someone who has never partook in therapy before, I am happy and grateful to start this journey with Paul as a guide and confidant. Even though we are still at the beginning, I feel very comfortable to be honest with no fear of judgement or embarrassment. I can already see how much more accountability is surfacing from these sessions and I'm confident that the end result will be a beautiful one.