Sandra Paolini, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Martinez, California

Verified

Professions: Marriage & Family Therapist, Life Coach, Counselor

Languages: English

My Approach to Therapy

You've been dealing with anxiety, panic attacks, or agoraphobia longer than you'd like to admit. You've tried to manage it, calm it down, think your way through it, and avoid the triggers, but it keeps showing up. Maybe you've started organizing your life around it, steering clear of certain places or situations just to keep the peace. It’s exhausting, and you know deep down it’s not sustainable. You're not looking for another technique to keep it at bay. You're looking for real change, the kind that rewires your relationship with fear and helps you take your life back on your own terms. I specialize in panic, agoraphobia, and anxiety, integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Immunity to Change™, mindfulness, and body-based approaches. Together, we'll work with what's actually happening when fear and panic arise, while exploring the often-unseen beliefs, assumptions, and self-protective patterns that can keep you stuck despite your best efforts to change. This approach helps bridge the gap between insight and lasting change. I also offer small therapeutic groups. I know what it's like to have anxiety and panic run your life. I felt trapped for years before discovering that real change comes from seeing what's actually driving it, then testing new responses in real life—not just talking about it. If you're ready for that kind of work, I'd love to talk. You don't have to do this alone.

My Practice & Services

In my work with anxiety, panic, agoraphobia, and other life challenges, I sometimes incorporate elements of Immunity to Change™, a framework that helps explain why change can remain frustratingly difficult despite our best efforts. Drawing on more than 40 years of research in adult development, this approach suggests that many obstacles to change are not simply a matter of motivation or willpower. Instead, it proposes that beneath many stalled goals is a powerful self-protection system designed to keep us safe and out of danger, yet one that often works against the very changes we want to make. In therapy, I use this framework to help clients identify competing commitments and limiting assumptions that may be contributing to anxiety, avoidance, or feeling stuck. The result is often a deeper understanding of longstanding patterns and a clearer path toward lasting change.

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

I am particularly skilled at helping others with anxiety related disorders; PTSD, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, OCD and Generalized Anxiety, as well as working with depression, grief and spiritual issues.

Important Factors for Choosing a Therapist

Most people show up at therapy when they have already exhausted all the change strategies in their personal tool belts. At this point, folks often feel hopeless and are willing to try anything. Nonetheless, it's important to choose someone you will align with on a number of levels. For almost everyone, it;s important to feel heard, understood, validated and accepted. Most folks also enjoy a warm, supportive, non-judgmental environment. These are givens. But beyond this, it;s important to choose a therapist with whom you feel aligned on deeper levels. For example: * How does your therapist view the change process? Does (s)he believe it takes years of insight work, or does (s)he focus on solutions, the present, and effective action? * What does your therapist believe are the goals of therapy? * How does your therapist intend to meet your goals? * What;s your therapist?s theoretical orientation? Does it make sense to you? * Do you feel comfortable telling your therapist when things aren't working? * Are you feeling more motivated, energized and alive as a result of the work? * Does your therapist continue to upgrade and improve skills, engage in personal work, or have the life experience that aligns with yours? It;s important to take your time and choose well. You are the consumer, Take your time, shop around and find a good match because the work is serious and has the potential to change your life at the core.

My View on the Nature of 'Disorders'

I don't believe people are disordered, broken, or damaged. Rather, I believe people get stuck in unresourceful patterns that can create distress in their lives. By addressing negative or unwanted patterns and discovering how they are held in place and reinforced by thoughts and actions, you can begin to unravel and re-pattern how you organize the details of your life. Interestingly, the very same brain structures and mind patterns that hold negative patterns in place can also be used to engage, fortify, and hard-wire in other, more resourceful, flexible, life-giving patterns. To the brain, patterns are patterns, and once you learn how your own internal operating system works, you can use it to make the kind of changes you want

Expertise & Specialties

Age Groups I Work With

AdultsElders

Groups I Work With

Adults

Therapy Services & Specialties

Coaching Individual Therapy & Counseling

Concerns & Challenges Addressed

AbandonmentAddictions and CompulsionsAdjusting to Change / Life TransitionsAgoraphobiaAngerAnxietyAttachment IssuesBullying

Therapeutic Approaches & Evidence-Based Methods

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Anger ManagementBody-Mind PsychotherapyBreathworkCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Emotionally Focused TherapyEnergy PsychologyFocusing

Industries & Communities

First Responder/Medical ProfessionalsMilitary/Law EnforcementSelf-Employed and Freelance Professionals