Pierpaolo Paparo
Integrative Psychotherapist & Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Psychotherapist
I’m an integrative psychotherapist working in English and Italian. I offer practical, ACT-based therapy for expats and professionals dealing with anxiety, overthinking, pressure, and life transitions.
I specialise in:
About me
I’m Pierpaolo Paparo, an Italian psychotherapist based in Paris, offering therapy in English and Italian, both online and face-to-face. I trained as a psychotherapist in Ireland, where I completed my Master’s in Psychotherapy and also lived through important personal changes, including the end of my marriage. That period shaped my interest in psychotherapy, mindfulness, and the difficult but meaningful work of rebuilding a life with more awareness and honesty.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked for an asset management company. That experience helps me understand the pressure many professionals carry: responsibility, performance, decision-making, and the feeling that you have to keep functioning even when things feel very different inside. I often work with expats, international professionals, and high-functioning adults who may appear capable on the outside but privately struggle with anxiety, OCD, overthinking, depression, relationship difficulties, or life transitions.
My own background across Italy, Ireland, and France also informs the way I understand expat life. Living between languages, cultures, and identities can be enriching, but it can also bring isolation, uncertainty, and a sense of not fully belonging. My aim is to offer therapy that feels human, grounded, and connected to real life — not abstract, not formulaic, and not disconnected from the pressures people are actually living with.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
My approach is integrative, humanistic, and ACT-based. This means I place Acceptance and Commitment Therapy at the centre of my work, while also drawing on psychodynamic understanding, somatic awareness, mindfulness, and practical CBT-informed tools when useful. I do not see therapy as simply talking about problems or trying to think more positively. The work is about understanding the patterns that keep you stuck and learning how to respond differently to difficult thoughts, emotions, sensations, and relationships.
In sessions, we may explore anxiety, OCD, overthinking, avoidance, self-criticism, emotional pressure, relationship patterns, or the impact of major life transitions. With OCD, I may also integrate ERP and exposure-based work, while keeping the focus on psychological flexibility rather than forcing control over thoughts or feelings. I work collaboratively, which means we think together, but the therapy is also structured enough to help you build skills you can use outside the room.
Clients often come to me because they are tired of repeating the same internal loops: analysing, controlling, avoiding, pleasing, performing, or trying to hold everything together. My role is to help you slow down, understand what is happening, and develop a more workable relationship with your mind, your emotions, and your life. The aim is not perfection or constant calm, but greater clarity, flexibility, and movement towards what matters.
Experience
2022 - Psychotherapist in Private Practice 2019 - Senior Student Psychotherapist 2001 - Quant Analyst and Portfolio Manager for Pioneer Amundi
Education
MA in Psychotherapy (Dublin Business School) Higher Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Dublin Business School) Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy (PCI College) Mindfulness Teacher (with Shamash Alidina)
BA in Economics (University La Sapienza, Rome) MSc in Quantitative Finance (CORIPE, Turin) Past member of CFA, FRM
Services
Intro Call
Individual Session
Face-to-Face, Paris
Insurances
