LMFT, 4 years of experience
New to Grow
Hi, I’m Paola Zaldivar, a licensed therapist providing therapy for individuals and couples. I have four years of experience, and I believe healing begins in a space where you feel seen, safe, and supported. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, trauma, or relationship challenges, I’m here to walk alongside you with compassion and clarity. My goal is to create meaningful, lasting change by helping you understand yourself more deeply and strengthen your relationships. I can also help you navigate major life transitions—such as getting married, becoming a parent, adjusting to an empty nest, starting school, experiencing grief or illness, or going through a divorce—by getting to the root of your concerns and using cognitive-behavioral techniques to help you regain stability and confidence.
In your first session, we’ll begin by getting to know what brought you to therapy and what you hope to gain from the process. I’ll ask about your current concerns, your history, and what support feels most meaningful to you. This session is also a space for you to ask questions, share at your own pace, and get a sense of what it’s like to work together.
My greatest strength is offering a collaborative, supportive approach that meets clients exactly where they are. I work alongside clients to explore the root of their challenges, problem-solve together, and create meaningful, lasting change. I strive to create a space in therapy where clients feel empowered, understood, and actively involved in their healing process.
My ideal client is someone experiencing emotional disconnection, anxiety, depression, trauma, or relational difficulties and is motivated to understand themselves more deeply. I support clients in building safety, trust, and emotional regulation to strengthen their relationships and overall well-being.
I believe relationships play a central role in each person’s well-being. In my couples work, I help partners improve communication, rebuild trust, and restore intimacy using evidence-based approaches from Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) and the Gottman Method. Guided by attachment theory, I focus on creating a secure bond between you and your partner. I don’t just address surface-level disagreements — I explore the deeper patterns and unmet needs that drive conflict. Together, we map out why these cycles occur and work to heal at the core. My goal is to create a safe, supportive space where both of you can be heard, express your needs openly, and reconnect with one another without judgment.
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help individuals recognize and shift unhelpful thoughts and behavior patterns that contribute to anxiety, depression, and other challenges. CBT is a structured, goal-oriented approach that focuses on understanding how your thoughts, feelings, and actions impact one another. Together, we identify negative thinking patterns and replace them with more balanced, effective ways of responding to stress, grief, and everyday difficulties. This collaborative process empowers clients to build practical skills and create meaningful, lasting change.
I use EMDR to help clients process disturbing memories, experiences, negative beliefs, and the emotions or physical sensations connected to them. EMDR is a structured therapy approach in which the therapist guides the client to focus on a distressing memory while using bilateral stimulation or other sensory input. This process helps the brain reprocess the memory, making it less overwhelming, allowing healing to resume, and reducing the emotional impact of the trauma.