About Paula
Paula Peterson is a licensed professional counselor who uses a warm, practical style to help people facing stress, anxiety, grief, and life changes. She writes plainly and listens carefully so clients can speak about what matters most. Paula invites honest conversation and helps people find steady ways forward.
Paula draws on 18 years of clinical experience working in day treatment and outpatient settings. She focuses on trauma, anxiety, grief and loss, anger, self-worth, and life transitions.
Background and approach
She also supports people dealing with addictions, depression, and spiritual struggles. Her approach is down-to-earth and goal oriented, with room for gentle exploration. In sessions she combines Client-Centered Therapy with tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address thoughts and behavior that get in the way.
She also uses EMDR for processing traumatic memories when appropriate, and practices mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and increase present moment awareness. Solution-Focused Therapy helps when people want practical steps and quick goals. Paula believes people have inner resources to heal and grow.
She works to tap into that capacity while offering clear strategies for coping and change. Sessions are collaborative, paced to each person’s needs, and aimed at building skills that last beyond the appointment. She practices in Wisconsin and conducts sessions in English.
If her style resonates, the next step is a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a session to begin the work together.
Online approaches that meet you where you are
Paula uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a respectful, listening space where people can talk about what matters to them. This approach focuses on understanding a person’s experience and letting the client’s goals guide the work.She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and situations where practical coping skills are needed. When trauma is a core concern, Paula may integrate EMDR to help process distressing memories and reduce their emotional impact.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. Paula collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences. She will explain options and adjust the plan as progress is made so the work stays focused and useful.
Online therapy offers flexibility in how sessions happen. Video calls let people read facial expressions and body language, while phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is desired. Live chat and text-based messaging provide ongoing support between sessions and are handy for brief updates or coping reminders. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Grief
- Anger management
Also listed
- Addictions
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- Wisconsin
- Languages
- English