- Client-centered approach
- Evidence-informed tools
- Supports life transitions
About Paula
Dr. Paula Alvarez is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 35 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, addiction, and relationship struggles. She also addresses concerns like codependency, parenting strain, grief, and finding life purpose.
Dr. Alvarez draws on a client-centered style that puts the person’s goals first. She adapts each session to what the client wants to work on, and uses clear, practical tools when they fit. For people who prefer structured approaches, she offers cognitive behavioral techniques and homework assignments. For those coping with trauma or intense emotions, she incorporates trauma-informed strategies and skills from dialectical behavior therapy.
Her background includes long-term work in inpatient and outpatient mental health settings. She has run group programs for domestic violence interventions in both English and Spanish. She also holds a doctorate in Organizational Psychology and brings that perspective when clients are dealing with work stress, caregiver roles, or life transitions.
In sessions she may suggest brief solution-focused steps, bibliotherapy, or motivational interviewing techniques to help people move forward. She works with adults facing a wide range of concerns including bipolar disorder, eating-related issues, and immigration-related stress.
Dr. Alvarez is licensed as an LCSW in California, Illinois, and Missouri. She offers therapy in English and accepts international clients. Prospective clients are encouraged to compare their needs with her approach before booking.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Dr. Alvarez commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in her work. ACT focuses on helping people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values while learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings. CBT breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns.She treats finding the right approach as a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, try techniques, and adjust methods based on what works for the client. That way each person shapes a plan that fits their needs and preferences.
Please confirm current session options before booking, as specific formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and remove commute time so work or caregiving routines are less disrupted. Licensed professionals can also use online sessions to assign homework, review worksheets together, and practice new skills between meetings.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
35+ years
Credentials
California, Missouri, Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, anger, bipolar disorder, depression, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting strain, grief, and codependency among other concerns.
What is her general therapy style?
Her style is client-centered, meaning she follows the client’s goals and priorities. She adapts sessions to what each person wants to work on.
How long has she been practicing?
She brings 35 years of clinical experience, including work in locked and outpatient mental health settings and group programs for domestic violence interventions.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is an LCSW and holds licensure in California, Illinois, and Missouri, and is based in Missouri.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English, and she has past experience facilitating groups in Spanish as well.
Does she work with international clients?
Yes, she accepts international clients.
How are fees and billing handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist’s availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.