Your Voice, Your Path — Therapy that meets you where you are and supports where you want to go

Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.
Reaching out is an important step toward healing. Life can feel overwhelming when we are facing emotions like anxiety, depression, or grief.

I have over 25 years of experience supporting individuals through challenges that arise during different stages of life. While these changes are expected and natural, they can become debilitating when compounded by unresolved trauma, difficult relationships, chronic stress, or loss.

I offer a compassionate and grounded therapy approach that will provide you with tools and insights for meaningful healing. I am a believer in creativity as a key to growth and recovery. Services are available virtually throughout California in both English and Spanish.

Getting started is simple: Contact me to schedule your free, no-obligation 15-minute phone consultation.

-Paulina Ospina-Mallarino, LCSW

Core Therapeutic Philosophy

Your story, at the heart of our work

In therapy, we’ll explore life experiences with curiosity and compassion to uncover patterns that affect your well-being. I will invite you to contemplate diverse perspectives to discover new insights, inner strengths, and tools to navigate challenges with greater clarity and confidence. This therapeutic process supports the development of a healthier and empowered sense of self.

Connection Between Body and Mind

We store emotional experiences in our bodies. By increasing body awareness in therapy, we gain valuable insights into how we respond to trauma. Our work will help you explore the body’s capacity to process and release emotional experiences. Together, we’ll integrate somatic practices such as breathwork, grounding, visualization, and posture awareness to support your healing journey.

Healing in the Context of Identities and Cultures

Our mental health is shaped by many factors that may be beyond our control, such as gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, and life stage. My therapeutic approach is sensitive to these aspects of identity and experience. We’ll explore how they support or challenge your emotional healing.

Therapy Approaches

Solution-Focused Therapy

This approach helps you identify your strengths and build on what's already working for you. It’s empowering and goal-oriented, focusing on small, meaningful steps toward the future you want.

Cognitive-Behavioural Approach

These tools help you become more aware of your thoughts and how they influence your feelings and actions. Together, we’ll explore new ways of thinking that support your well-being and personal growth.

Humanistic Therapy

Rooted in empathy and acceptance, this approach sees you as the expert of your own life. It offers a safe, non-judgmental space to explore your values, goals, and what truly matters to you.

Narrative

Narrative therapy invites you to look at your story with fresh eyes. We’ll gently explore the beliefs and patterns shaping your life and open space for new, more empowering narratives to emerge.

Communication Skills

Learning to express yourself clearly and listen deeply can transform your relationships. We’ll practice tools to help you feel more connected, understood, and confident in your interactions.

Challenges We can Work On

  • Scenic landscape with a lake, rolling hills, and mountains under a cloudy sky.

    Navigating Life Crossroads

    When you are juggling multiple roles—whether you're a young professional adapting to new work environments, striving for work-life balance, or a new parent redefining your sense of self and feeling pulled in too many directions—therapy offers a space to pause, reflect, and realign; exploring questions of identity, purpose, and self care.

  • Landscape of rolling green hills with a modern building, snow-capped mountains in the background, and an overcast sky.

    Seeking Emotional Growth

    When you are feeling misunderstood, lonely, sensitive—and find yourself frequently making choices that don’t serve you—therapy offers tools to strengthen emotional awareness, develop constructive mindsets, and improve communication skills to help you create healthier emotional environments.

  • Modern wooden building with large glass window, set against a mountain landscape with dry grass and shrubs in the foreground.

    Coping with Life’s Transitions

    Life brings inevitable changes—career transitions, the end of relationships, losses, or evolving family dynamics can make you feel disoriented and overwhelmed. Therapy offers an opportunity for growth and support in the journey of grief, rediscovering personal agency, and finding clarity amidst uncertainty.

  • Modern wooden house with stairs leading to a patio, set against a green hilly landscape with snow-capped mountains in the background.

    Midlife and Beyond

    When you feel life has stagnated, purpose is distant, and there's a disconnect from identity—Therapy offers a space to integrate your past and your possibilities; to process lived experiences, release outdated expectations, and move forward with greater freedom and intention, forming new connections that can generate new meaning and purpose. 

Providing telehealth services

Telehealth therapy is convenient, effective, personal, and deeply supportive. Meeting from the comfort of a familiar space can ease anxiety, reduce barriers, and help you feel more grounded during sessions. 

Online therapy offers the same depth and connection as in-person care, while providing added flexibility and comfort. This is your space to feel seen, heard, and supported. Together, we’ll create a therapeutic environment where healing and growth can take root, where your story can unfold with strength and clarity.

Let’s Schedule Your Appointment!

My mission is to create a warm, inviting space where we can work together on your anxiety and relationship concerns. Choose a time that works for you, and let’s take this important step together!

 FAQs

  • Yes. Most of my sessions are held virtually, which means you can join from the comfort and privacy of your own space. I use a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform to ensure your sessions are both safe and confidential. Many clients find virtual therapy to be just as effective as in-person sessions — and more convenient.

  • If you want to make a change, therapy can help. It can benefit anyone who wants to improve their quality of life, relationships, and overall well-being.

    While many factors contribute to successful therapy, the most important one is you — your courage, commitment, and openness to the process. If you are ready to learn more about yourself, overcome barriers, develop healthier habits, and build stronger connections, I’m here to support you.

  • While friends and family can be wonderfully supportive, therapy offers something unique: an objective, trained professional who understands the complexities of emotions, relationships, and mental health. In therapy, you have a confidential space entirely dedicated to you. You don’t have to filter your thoughts, worry about oversharing, or consider someone else’s feelings in the way you might with loved ones. My role is to help you gain new insights, see patterns more clearly, and support your growth.

  • No. I primarily work with individuals. Occasionally, someone important to you may attend a session.

  • For most clients, meeting every other week works well. This allows time to reflect on and practice the strategies we discuss in session. In times of significant stress or crisis, we may decide to meet more frequently. The most important thing is your commitment to showing up, engaging fully, and applying what we explore together between sessions.

  • Yes. To find out more about your network coverage, I encourage you to follow these steps:

    Call your insurance provider at the number listed on the back of your insurance card. Ask your provider: 

    1. What is your co-pay for behavioral/mental health outpatient services?

    2. Do you have a deductible where you pay for services until it is met?

    3. Am I (Paulina Ospina-Mallarino) a provider for your insurance plan?

    I will verify your benefits, but it is always a good practice for you to understand your insurance coverage so that there are no surprises.

    Always let me know if you make changes to your insurance coverage prior to the session.

  • A standard 55-minute session is $150.

  • It depends on your needs and goals. Brief therapy may last only 3–5 sessions, while longer-term therapy can continue for months or years. We will collaborate to determine what is appropriate and works best for you.

  • If you know you’ll be late, please contact me as soon as possible so we can adjust as needed.

  • Consistent attendance is an important part of your growth. If you need to cancel, please let me know as soon as you can so I can offer that time to another client. I understand that unexpected things happen — just reach out when they do.