Paula D. Atkinson

Hi! My name is Paula, and I'm glad you're here. I have worked with various populations over a couple decades and have a diverse background including people with trauma, disordered eating, body issues, depression, anxiety, grief and loss and relationship problems.

I am a queer, liberation-focused psychotherapist. I'm also a second-generation yoga teacher, an author and an artist. For over a decade, I have helped clients who suffer from depression and anxiety, relationship strife, transitions, self doubt and sometimes just the despair that comes from being conscious in today's world.

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I love working with those recovering from years of dieting, disordered eating, food obsession, internalized weight stigma and body hatred.

I've mostly worked with women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, sober folks, couples at a stuck point and those who suffer from body and food issues.

My training includes IFS, DBT, ACT, and I love utilizing spiritual and mindfulness tools during sessions, if that vibes with the client.

I've been interviewed for various articles, podcasts and broadcasts, including on NPR, an episode of Jubilee’s Surrounded (where I debated with Jillian Michaels!!), and I co-host a podcast that explores how psychotherapy conspires, at times, with some of the systems that cause mental suffering.

I grew up in the Bay Area, lived in DC and NYC for over 20 years, and recently relocated to Palm Springs CA where I am grateful every day for the dry heat, big sky and the desert vibrations.

I very much like a positive, at times playful, and holistic approach to therapy.

I am a warm, creative, permission-based, relational therapist. I draw from liberation, somatic, and expressive arts modalities, as well as transpersonal, queer and eco-psychologies.

To me, therapy is most powerful when I, as the therapist, give the client a place to remember who they are, how they truly feel, and what they really want and then I offer the tools, the permission and the support as they move toward those answers.

Here's some testimonials from my prior clients!:

"Paula is the most gifted therapist I have worked with. She has taught me how to separate out the noise of the world to be able to hear my own voice and sense my own experience. In a culture that is constantly telling me how I am not enough, she has given me tools to differentiate what is mine and what insecurities and negative emotions that I am carrying for others and can simply be released. I never expected to see the personal growth that I have been able to achieve by working with her. I can now trust myself to make the most loving life decisions for myself as well as my friends and family."

"Working with Paula has changed my life. She has held safe space for me, validated my feelings about my experiences, given me tools to process my trauma, and helped me along the path to becoming a more aware, compassionate person. On both my good days and bad days, Paula guides me to new realizations and healing - and I unreservedly recommend her to anyone who wants to improve their experience here on this planet."

​I am proud to report that many clients tell me how much better they feel after one session. I am eager to hear your story! I never want anyone to feel uncomfortable or like they are giving up their vulnerable secrets to someone they don't know. I believe in going at your pace, as you feel most comfortable. Mostly, clients tell me they enjoyed the chat , as they would with a friend, but also realize there has been growth in aftermath of the conversation. To me, that is they way it should be.