Paola Barreto
Clinical and Health Psychologist
I specialise in:
About me
Hello! I’m so glad you’re here checking out my profile. To introduce myself, I want to start by exploring what originally drew me to this profession. When I was younger, I frequently found myself wondering about the "why" behind our lives: the way we navigate our thoughts, the reasons we make certain choices, and how we find the strength to act even when things feel uncertain. That desire to understand our inner workings eventually became my calling, and over the years, it has allowed me to witness human resilience at almost every stage of life.
I began my career in a psychiatric hospital, working closely with teenagers facing complex challenges like personality disorders, self-harm, and deep emotional crises. That experience was incredibly formative, as it taught me that when things feel like they are falling apart, the most powerful thing a therapist can offer is a steady, compassionate presence.
Later, my work took me into senior care, where my focus expanded to include not just the elderly, but the entire network around them. Supporting families and staff through the complexities of dementia, anxiety, and grief deepened my understanding of how mental health ripples outwards. It showed me that our well-being is often tied to the systems we live and work in, and that supporting one person often means understanding their whole environment.
Nowadays, I work in a corporate setting as an EAP provider, which has opened my eyes to an even broader perspective. Every day, I talk with people from South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. This experience has helped me truly understand and allowed me to witness how mental health is viewed differently across the world, and it’s taught me to adapt my approach to honor each person’s unique cultural lens. In this context, I help my clients navigate the very real pressures of modern life, things like burnout, high-stress environments, and the heavy lifting of major life changes and adjustments. Whether we are addressing anxiety, depression, the struggle to find balance, or even navigating through a crisis, I’ve learned that everyone’s experience is shaped by their unique background.
On a more personal note, I am a huge animal lover. I have two cats that live with me and four more that live with my parents. I love waking up in the morning and feeling the sun hit my face while I drink a cup of tea. I’ve been getting into several hobbies lately; I’ve tried diamond painting, I love doing my nails, coloring, listening to music, and watching K-dramas. I also live close to the beach, so in the summer, I love spending time there as well.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
In terms of how we’ll work together, my approach has evolved over time. While I started with a traditional CBT foundation, I eventually moved toward "third-wave" therapies to combat some of the limitations I found in the traditional model. This led me to study DBT and later ACT. I wanted to move beyond just looking at thoughts and focus more on empowering my clients while fostering a welcoming and warm environment of empathy. I also incorporate mindfulness-based strategies and narrative therapy to help you look at your own story in a way that feels more manageable and hopeful.
When you sit down with me, my goal is simply to create a space where you feel safe and truly heard. However, I think it’s important to be honest: therapy is very hard and tedious, sometimes boring, and sometimes annoying. Sometimes it can even make us feel angry (trust me, I know!). It’s not about "fixing problems," and that is not the role of a therapist. My role is to guide you through the hardships and help you build skills using empathy in a fostering environment without judgment.
To me, therapy is about finding your strength and looking at what we have, what we don’t, and what we need. It is about building resilience and new skills to help you become stronger in the face of challenges: committing to change while also learning to accept and deal with what cannot be changed. Whether you’re navigating burnout, a major life change, or struggling with anxiety and depression, grief, etc. I’m here to help you find your footing in a way that feels authentic to who you are.
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