Paula Shulman, MA, LMFT
She/her
“With couples, what I’m trying to do is help them get together and find that love. They come in facing all kinds of challenges. But if the love was there to begin with then maybe we can find it again. I’m trying to hold them in a place where I help them see and feel what the possibility is. To let them know, you can have this. Whatever you’ve been through, when you really find someone who loves you and can show you and be that love, then you’ve found home.”
Paula works hard and expects the same from you. She brings over 35 years of experience to the task of helping people heal emotional wounds, trauma and grief through the power of attunement. While deeply trained in skills building and education, her real strength is her ability to connect and hold people in their most vulnerable places. In her personal life, she is the mother of two biracial daughters and four precious grandchildren, including bilingual, toddler-age twins. She has a wealth of personal and professional experience crossing cultures and building bridges between them.
Ask me about: swimming; why I love to swim, my favorite places to swim; where I’ve traveled and why I love to meet people all over the world; my grandchildren; my 6 careers.
Ever since I was young, I’ve been: passionate about making a difference in the world; I’ve had a great capacity for empathy; I’ve always been deeply involved in social change/social justice work.
Favorite quote: “I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it…I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes!’ ” — (Oriah Mountain Dreamer)
Favorite kind of couples: I like working with almost any couple, but if I had to pick a favorite, I would say that I specifically like working with couples who face the tough stuff head on and risk feeling vulnerable and learning new skills – particularly the couples that are willing to stretch outside of their comfort zone. Whether this is exposing yourself to vulnerability, learning how to be humble or practicing standing up for yourself skillfully – that is the work I am most passionately engaged in.
Credentials
Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy – Antioch College
Masters in Education – Bank Street College
Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Level I and II
Emotionally Focused Therapy – Certification Eligible
Internal Family Systems – Certification Eligible
EMDR – Certification Eligible
Certified in Step Family Systems – National Stepfamily Resource Center
Pragmatic Experiential Couples Therapy – trained by Brent Atkinson
Additional Training in: Discernment Counseling, Nonviolent Communication