Paula Patterson, LCSW

Paula Patterson is a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of experience based in North Carolina. She helps people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship strain. Paula listens closely and offers practical steps to reduce daily distress and improve thinking and habits.

Her work often focuses on intrusive thoughts, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and the emotional fallout from sexual assault and abuse. She also supports people coping with self-harm urges, seasonal mood changes, bipolar mood concerns, and challenges tied to addiction. Paula pays attention to relationship dynamics and intimacy issues as part of that picture.

Paula draws from several approaches to match each person’s needs. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different responses. She also uses attachment-based and client-centered ideas to explore how early relationships affect current reactions.

Sessions are practical and grounded. Paula teaches skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance when needed, and she helps people build routines that fit everyday life. The goal is clearer thinking, fewer compulsive reactions, and more manageable days.

People who want to start are invited to describe their current struggles and goals. Paula works collaboratively to set priorities and plan steps that feel doable. Her tone is straightforward, empathic, and focused on real-world changes.

How her approaches translate to online work

Paula uses cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in ways that fit online conversations. CBT focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavior changes to see if they improve daily life. ACT helps people notice painful thoughts and choose actions that match their values even when feelings are uncomfortable.

She also draws on attachment-based and client-centered ideas to explore how early relationship patterns shape current reactions, using empathic listening to make sense of patterns and choices. Finding the right approach is part of the work; Paula collaborates with each person to pick methods that match goals, needs, and personal preferences rather than applying a single technique.

If you want to use online therapy, confirm the session formats offered before booking since formats are not listed in the profile. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, avoid travel time, and keep progress consistent during life transitions. They also allow for shorter check-ins when that better fits a schedule and for using screen-based tools to track thoughts, habits, and skill practice between meetings.