I'm a trauma-informed, inclusive Licensed Professional Counselor & EMDR therapist serving women in Texas.
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My name is Sara Paules, MA, LPC and I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Texas # (74916). I hold an M.A. in Counseling from St. Edward's University in Austin, TX and a B.S. from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. I am a trained therapist in Eye-Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) by Rick Levinson, LCSW. |
I offer individual therapy and EMDR services for women. Many of the women who work with me find me because they're ready to process some things that happened to them or they're going through a big transition in life such as the birth of a new child, the end of a relationship or after a big move.
Oftentimes, when we are going through a hard time in life or struggling, we become our own worst enemy. Our first reaction might bring up critical questions such as "why am I doing that/being like that?" or "what is wrong with me?" when our first question really should be "what happened to me that brings out this response?"
I help women in therapy connect the dots between what we are struggling with now and how it relates to some of the things that happened to us. It's not often that we find the space to explore our own inner world and yet, doing so can help us to feel more self-aware and empowered. Mostly, I hope that clients who work with me are able to find compassion for themselves and the parts of themselves that are burnt out, struggling or feeling difficult to love.
Some of our life events & stories can be difficult to relive and talk about. A common misconception about therapy (especially trauma therapy) is that we need to repeatedly talk about the things that happened to us. While it can be helpful for some people to share these experiences in therapy, most of the time spent in therapy is examining how those experiences have impacted you today. Are you a people pleaser? Do you shy away from conflict? Is it difficult to meet the right person? Feel like your friends are emotionally unavailable? Are you realizing new things about the relationship with your own mom after having a baby? Are you constantly angry? These are just some examples of the things you might want to bring up in therapy.
In therapy we might get to know all the different parts of you, from your inner child, to your protectors and inner critic, and get curious about how they relate to one another. I believe the better our parts can communicate with each other and hear each other out, the better relationship we end up having with ourselves and our life which is the most important & longest relationship we will ever have.
Clients tend to describe me as compassionate, kind, relate-able, brain-science-nerd-y and direct in my approach... with a little humor added in when appropriate. I will never leave you alone in the therapy process. I am here to listen, collaborate and get curious with you and your parts as a team, and at times challenge you.
Before getting into private practice, I studied psychological child development and worked in child advocacy through various government and non-profit organizations such as Helping Hand Home, CPS, CASA, Capital Area Counseling, to name a few. I like to say that I have the heart of a social worker but as I've expanded my own family, I've needed to shift my work/life balance which is how I ended up in private practice.
My specialties include C-PTSD, difficult childhood/parents, inner child/attachment work, difficulty dating/relationship issues, sexual trauma & perinatal/maternal mental health. As someone with ADHD and who has studied ADHD since my diagnosis in undergraduate school, I am also neurodivergent affirming and am able to offer accommodations in therapy when needed and space for those who are processing a new diagnosis.
When I'm not on my therapist chair, I’m also a mom of 2 small kiddos, a 1.5 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. My role as a mom does not define me but it has transformed the way I approach my work with clients in sessions now. I'm currently finding joy by spending time outdoors, watching the birds outside at the feeders, spending time in the New Braunfels rivers where I live, gardening in my backyard, and getting my few sips of coffee between the chaos which is being a working mom to 2 toddlers.
Before getting into private practice, I worked/volunteered with CPS, residential treatment centers for children in the CPS system, CASA, and with parents who were fostering/adopting children who came from difficult homes/situations. My life philanthropy is to work to fight against and educate about child abuse, support parents taking on the new challenge of parenting children with trauma, and to support adult children of childhood trauma in their road to healing.
If you would like to start therapy with a compassionate therapist in Austin, schedule your free consultation with Trauma Therapy for Women.
In addition to my education, I have received extensive training in:
Trauma-Informed Care
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI)
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
Oftentimes, when we are going through a hard time in life or struggling, we become our own worst enemy. Our first reaction might bring up critical questions such as "why am I doing that/being like that?" or "what is wrong with me?" when our first question really should be "what happened to me that brings out this response?"
I help women in therapy connect the dots between what we are struggling with now and how it relates to some of the things that happened to us. It's not often that we find the space to explore our own inner world and yet, doing so can help us to feel more self-aware and empowered. Mostly, I hope that clients who work with me are able to find compassion for themselves and the parts of themselves that are burnt out, struggling or feeling difficult to love.
Some of our life events & stories can be difficult to relive and talk about. A common misconception about therapy (especially trauma therapy) is that we need to repeatedly talk about the things that happened to us. While it can be helpful for some people to share these experiences in therapy, most of the time spent in therapy is examining how those experiences have impacted you today. Are you a people pleaser? Do you shy away from conflict? Is it difficult to meet the right person? Feel like your friends are emotionally unavailable? Are you realizing new things about the relationship with your own mom after having a baby? Are you constantly angry? These are just some examples of the things you might want to bring up in therapy.
In therapy we might get to know all the different parts of you, from your inner child, to your protectors and inner critic, and get curious about how they relate to one another. I believe the better our parts can communicate with each other and hear each other out, the better relationship we end up having with ourselves and our life which is the most important & longest relationship we will ever have.
Clients tend to describe me as compassionate, kind, relate-able, brain-science-nerd-y and direct in my approach... with a little humor added in when appropriate. I will never leave you alone in the therapy process. I am here to listen, collaborate and get curious with you and your parts as a team, and at times challenge you.
Before getting into private practice, I studied psychological child development and worked in child advocacy through various government and non-profit organizations such as Helping Hand Home, CPS, CASA, Capital Area Counseling, to name a few. I like to say that I have the heart of a social worker but as I've expanded my own family, I've needed to shift my work/life balance which is how I ended up in private practice.
My specialties include C-PTSD, difficult childhood/parents, inner child/attachment work, difficulty dating/relationship issues, sexual trauma & perinatal/maternal mental health. As someone with ADHD and who has studied ADHD since my diagnosis in undergraduate school, I am also neurodivergent affirming and am able to offer accommodations in therapy when needed and space for those who are processing a new diagnosis.
When I'm not on my therapist chair, I’m also a mom of 2 small kiddos, a 1.5 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. My role as a mom does not define me but it has transformed the way I approach my work with clients in sessions now. I'm currently finding joy by spending time outdoors, watching the birds outside at the feeders, spending time in the New Braunfels rivers where I live, gardening in my backyard, and getting my few sips of coffee between the chaos which is being a working mom to 2 toddlers.
Before getting into private practice, I worked/volunteered with CPS, residential treatment centers for children in the CPS system, CASA, and with parents who were fostering/adopting children who came from difficult homes/situations. My life philanthropy is to work to fight against and educate about child abuse, support parents taking on the new challenge of parenting children with trauma, and to support adult children of childhood trauma in their road to healing.
If you would like to start therapy with a compassionate therapist in Austin, schedule your free consultation with Trauma Therapy for Women.
In addition to my education, I have received extensive training in:
Trauma-Informed Care
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI)
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
Why Therapy?
It's hard to live the life you want and to feel like yourself when you feel trapped by shame, self-criticism or an inner critic. Shame thrives in isolation and grows stronger when we keep our fears to ourselves. Therapy can be a place to understand yourself deeper and to make room for the parts of you that are often kept in the shadows.
Exploring our roots, primary attachments & relationships can give us more curiosity and self-compassion for what we've gone through which has the ability to transcend our relationships to self and others.
Exploring our roots, primary attachments & relationships can give us more curiosity and self-compassion for what we've gone through which has the ability to transcend our relationships to self and others.
What is EMDR Therapy?
sara@mindfulsoulcenter.comEye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an evidenced-based therapy that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. This containing form of therapy can help people heal from challenging clinical conditions such as trauma, PTSD, panic, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, addictions, dissociation and so much more.
I use both talk therapy approaches and EMDR therapy in my sessions, depending on my client's preference. If you would like to schedule a consultation to find out if EMDR is the right treatment approach for you, please contact me for a free 30-minute phone consultation.
To learn more about EMDR, head here.
I use both talk therapy approaches and EMDR therapy in my sessions, depending on my client's preference. If you would like to schedule a consultation to find out if EMDR is the right treatment approach for you, please contact me for a free 30-minute phone consultation.
To learn more about EMDR, head here.
My Credentials
Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas # (74916)
Masters of Arts in Counseling from St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
Bachelors in Science from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
In addition to my education, I have received extensive training in:
Trauma-Informed Care
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI)
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)