Paula Otero

I'm a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed therapist with a background rooted in both North and South America. I trained in Argentina before building my practice in the Washington DC area, where I now work with adults virtually across DC, Maryland, and Florida.

My work centers on adults navigating major life transitions, particularly those who hold bicultural or first-generation identities. I understand from both personal and professional experience how disorienting it can be to move between worlds (cultural expectations, family systems, language, identity). That's the work I'm most drawn to.

Clinically, I draw from psychodynamic, trauma-informed, and humanistic frameworks, integrating psychodrama when they serve the process. I believe healing happens in relationship, and I bring warmth, directness, and depth to the therapeutic space.

In addition to individual therapy, I facilitate group therapy and offer clinical supervision to associate-level clinicians.

My approach is relational and depth-oriented. Together, we slow down enough to understand not just what's happening, but why it keeps happening, and what it might mean.

I work from a psychodynamic foundation, which means I pay attention to patterns (in relationships, in the stories we tell about ourselves, in what gets repeated across generations). I also bring trauma-informed principles into everything I do, because so much of what brings people to therapy has roots in experiences that the nervous system never fully processed.

I work bilingually in English and Spanish, and I hold cultural context as clinically significant, not incidental. Who you are shaped by where you come from.

Sessions are collaborative. I bring my perspective, I'll gently name what I notice, and I'll also follow your lead on what feels useful. The goal is a space that's honest, safe enough to take risks in, and genuinely yours.

The first session is a chance for us to meet and for you to get a sense of whether this feels like the right fit.

I'll ask questions about what's bringing you in, what you've tried before, and what you're hoping for. You don't need to have it all figured out before we meet. Many people come in knowing something isn't working but not knowing what to call it yet. That's a fine place to start.

By the end, I'll share some initial impressions and we'll talk about what working together could look like. Fit matters in therapy, and I'd rather you find the right person than stay with one who isn't quite right for you.

Spanish-speaking clients are welcome to conduct sessions fully in Spanish, fully in English, or anywhere in between.