Paula Xexeo
Hi, I'm Paula Xexeo, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) providing a safe, flexible, and collaborative virtual space for clients across California. I partner with preteens, teens, adults, and families navigating anxiety, trauma, life transitions, and relationship or family friction.
Born in Brazil, I provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed virtual therapy in English & Portuguese to help you safely slow down, break unhelpful loops, and move forward.
Born in Brazil, I provide culturally responsive therapy in both English and Portuguese, tailored to help individuals safely slow down, examine unhelpful behavioral loops, and move forward.
First session
From our first session, clients will get a safe, low-pressure, and conversational space to begin exploring their story at a pace that feels entirely right for them. Clients who are starting therapy for the first time will quickly find that they do not have to pretend to have everything figured out here. Specifically, during this initial session, we will: • Unpack current weights: Discuss what is currently weighing on you and look at how external or systemic pressures are affecting your life. • Look at the big picture: Safely look at the broader circumstances surrounding your struggles from a supportive distance. • Begin defining goals: Start clarifying what you want your next chapter to look like and outline the beginnings of a personalized plan. Ultimately, you will walk away from our first session with the reassurance that you are respected as the ultimate expert on your own life, and that we are going to take this journey together, one manageable step at a time.
Strengths
I bring a down-to-earth, nonjudgmental communication style grounded in clinical curiosity, warm active listening, and a deeply trauma-informed perspective. My approach stands out because I look at the bigger picture and firmly believe that the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem. By blending practical tools from CBT, DBT, and mindfulness with Narrative Therapy, I help you externalize your struggles from a distance, quiet the external noise, and build actionable strategies so you can confidently reclaim authorship of your life.
Ideal clients
My ideal client is an individual adult, teen, or who is ready to slow down, make sense of their experiences, and move forward from the external pressures weighing them down. They are often navigating challenges like anxiety, intense stress, trauma, or major life transitions, and they might feel overwhelmed by a lack of a clear path or trapped in unhelpful behavioral loops. This individual recognizes that systemic or cultural stress, identity questions, or family dynamics are impacting their well-being, and they are looking for a dedicated, one-on-one space to investigate these forces safely. Mindset-wise, they don't need to have everything figured out before our first session, but they bring a willingness to look at their story from fresh angles and a desire to turn deep inner insights into practical, everyday changes. Their ultimate goal is to quiet the external noise, externalize their struggles, and highlight their inherent strengths so they can firmly take the driver's seat and reclaim authorship of their own life.
Treatment methods
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
In my practice, I use culturally responsive therapy to look at the bigger picture of your life and recognize that your stress is often not a personal failing, but a response to the world around you. True healing involves caring for the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—while understanding how culture, community, and identity shape your daily well-being.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
In my practice, I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a practical, collaborative tool to help you safely examine and break unhelpful behavioral loops. Life can often feel overwhelming, and when your nervous system is overloaded, it is easy for negative thought patterns to take over and influence how you feel and act every day. Instead of treating these struggles as a personal failing, we will work together to look at your thoughts from fresh, empowering angles. I bring clinical curiosity to our sessions to help you identify the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Together, we will quiet the external noise and translate deep personal insights into concrete, actionable strategies. By learning to challenge unhelpful thinking patterns in real-time, you will gain practical, everyday coping skills to manage anxiety, stress, or depression, keeping you firmly in the driver's seat of your growth.
Narrative
In my practice, I use Narrative Therapy because I firmly believe that the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem. When you are dealing with anxiety, trauma, or difficult life transitions, it is very easy to externalize those struggles inward and feel like you are broken. Narrative Therapy allows us to separate your true inner identity from the challenges you are facing. Together, we will safely look at your story from a supportive distance to investigate the external, family, and systemic pressures that have been shaping your life. By bringing active listening and clinical curiosity to your unique lived experiences, I help you highlight your inherent values and hidden strengths. This collaborative process empowers you to quiet the external noise, rewrite unhelpful behavioral patterns, and confidently reclaim authorship of your own next chapter.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
In my practice, I integrate mindfulness tools to help you slow down, quiet the external noise, and regulate an overloaded nervous system. When you are constantly navigating anxiety, systemic pressures, or difficult life transitions, your body can get trapped in a chronic state of stress or unhelpful behavioral loops. Instead of treating this stress as a personal failing, we will use mindfulness techniques as a practical, grounding resource to help you reconnect with the present moment. By bringing a curious, nonjudgmental awareness to your thoughts and physical sensations, you will learn how to pause, process your experiences from a supportive distance, and respond to life's challenges with clarity. This approach blends seamlessly with CBT and Narrative tools, providing you with everyday, actionable strategies to calm your mind and move forward into your next chapter with confidence.
Trauma-Informed Care
In my practice, I approach our work through a deeply trauma-informed lens, creating a safe, predictable, and nonjudgmental environment where you can explore your story at your own pace. Trauma from past relationships, family conflict, or systemic pressures can deeply alter how you view yourself and cause your nervous system to stay constantly overloaded. In our individual sessions, we will never rush your process. Together, we will gently look at what you are carrying from a supportive distance, collaborate on practical grounding tools to calm your body, and safely highlight your inherent resilience so you can confidently reclaim authorship of your life.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
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Serves
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 164548