For the past 16 years, I have been practicing as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I am certified in three evidence-based treatments which is useful in reducing and managing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and traumatic memories. I'd like to offer you the most up-to-date, appropriate, and effective interventions possible but also create a safe and supportive environment just for you. During our time together, you will learn workable skills, tools, and strategies that can significantly improve the quality of your life.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
During our initial session, I'd like for us to introduce ourselves to each other. I will provide some general information about the structure and the course of treatment, along with an explanation of my role and limitation of confidentiality. I will ask questions about your motivation for choosing therapy and explore what has been helpful to you in the past, as well as, as things that haven't been working. We'll work on a specific plan together and determine your long-term goals. I will review which therapeutic tools will be helpful in measuring your accomplishments and progress. As we conclude, I will invite you to ask any questions or perhaps share any curiosities about the initial session.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I enjoy being flexible during each session and use any new information that presents itself as a guide to further your understanding of your process. At the same time, I lean into consistency and structure, and I prefer to have a mutual agreement about moving away from one therapy approach to another one. I believe my abilities to seamlessly navigate this therapeutic space is directly related to the number of years I've worked with each approach and the many complex sessions I've had.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I enjoy working with clients who have a desire for change and are willing to try new ways of thinking, challenge old habits and behaviors, and discover new approaches to problem solving and living in the moment.
About Paula Weatherby
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
As a certified ACT therapist, I've been applying the principles for over a decade to help relieve problems with anxiety, addiction, phobias, obsessive behaviors, chronic pain, and in some cases, to help relieve symptoms when starting trauma focused therapy. ACT is an experiential evidence-based treatment that allows clients to relate to their daily struggles in more helpful ways. Through experiential exercises and metaphors clients learn to practice new ways of relating to negative emotional experiences and to hold their struggles while at the same time moving toward their values and adding quality to life. ACT is a partnership between the client and the therapist with the client being the "expert" in the room. Life struggles can be viewed through the lens of relational frameworks and patterns that have been created but ultimately become problematic and barriers to achieving goals in life. Once identified, these frameworks and patterns can be changed into more helpful and meaningful beliefs that best serve the client's overall purpose in life. Measuring a client's perception of change, quality of life, levels of psychological flexibility, and even therapeutic alliance can help to improve ACT treatment outcomes.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I've used CBT throughout my 20+ year career. I encourage clients to learn the best approaches to changing troublesome and sometimes resistant problematic or distorted thinking patterns and to find healthier alternative thoughts patterns that led to better functioning and overall wellbeing. I want to create a supportive environment. I also use a measured based approach in which progress is measured so adjustments can be made or areas that need additional focus are addressed. The therapeutic relationship is collaborative and welcomes feedback.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
As a certified CPT therapist, my focus is to initially create a supportive and safe environment to help client's confront problematic thinking patterns that result from having traumatic experiences. After an introduction to the therapy and an overview of each step in the process, clients will begin to build mastery over the trauma memories. The highly structured and slowly paced process allows clients to feel safe enough to confront the beliefs that keep the trauma experience activated. As the process continues, clients feel relief and learn they now have power and control over the distressing memories.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
As a certified Prolonged Exposure therapist, I create a safe and supportive environment so clients can work through distressing memories using evidence-based approaches, structured and slowly paced methods, and questionnaires that help to measure and reduce symptoms of reexperiencing the trauma memories, negative thoughts or behaviors, and avoidance of any triggers to the distressing memory. In-between sessions will involve completing invo-exposures aka real-life exercises that promotes the healing process and the feeling and the total sensation of living free from distressing memories.