Dr. Paula Alvarez, LCSW
California · 35 years in practice
Dr. Paula Alvarez welcomes people seeking practical help with stress, anxiety, depression, and life changes.
License and registration
- LCSW, California
- 19790 · expires December 2027
- LCSW, Missouri
- 2016036974 · expires September 2026
- LCSW, Illinois
- 149.023704 · expires November 2027
- NPI
- 1710020227 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 35
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Paula
Dr. Paula Alvarez welcomes people seeking practical help with stress, anxiety, depression, and life changes. She has 35 years of clinical experience and works from a straightforward, person-centered stance.
Her approach aims to make sessions feel focused and useful for everyday life. She holds the credential LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker, and practices in Missouri while accepting international clients. Over three decades she has worked in locked and outpatient mental health settings and has experience running group programs in English and Spanish.
Background and approach
Dr. Alvarez uses methods that match what each person prefers. She draws on client-centered work, cognitive-behavioral tools, and hypnotherapy alongside acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavior therapy techniques when helpful.
She also offers brief solution-focused ideas, trauma-informed care, and motivational interviewing strategies. Sessions can include practical exercises, short assignments, and reading suggestions for people who want to continue work between meetings. She pays attention to cultural context, caregiving stress, and life-stage concerns such as aging and end-of-life issues.
Typical concerns she helps with include grief, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting strain, addiction, bipolar and mood concerns, attention difficulties, and identity questions. Dr. Alvarez aims to help people build skills, clarify priorities, and manage symptoms so daily life becomes more manageable.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Paula lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family of origin issues
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Paula names
- Hypnotherapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Gottman Method
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
Approaches you can use online with a licensed professional
Dr. Alvarez often combines hypnotherapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy to help people change unhelpful thinking and build new habits. Hypnotherapy is used as a focused, guided approach to deepen relaxation and attention so a client can practice new responses to stress or habit patterns. CBT involves identifying thoughts and behaviors that get in the way and using step-by-step strategies to test and replace them.She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which helps people clarify values and commit to small actions that match those values. ACT can be useful for anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and major life transitions because it focuses on what matters most rather than only trying to eliminate symptoms. Finding the right mix of methods is collaborative; the therapist will talk with each person about goals and preferences and then try approaches that fit those needs.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life. Video lets the therapist and client work more like an in-person visit, phone works well when bandwidth is limited, and messaging provides short check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These options aim to make therapy more flexible and accessible while keeping the focus on practical skills and progress.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. It does not change what you pay or the order of the listings.
Questions people ask
What kinds of problems does she help address?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, anger, addictions, bipolar disorder, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting challenges, grief, self-esteem, career concerns, ADHD, and related life changes.
What is her therapy style like?
Her style is person-centered and practical. Sessions focus on the client's goals and may include CBT exercises, ACT ideas, DBT skills, hypnotherapy when appropriate, and brief solution-focused techniques.
What background does she bring to sessions?
She brings 35 years of clinical experience in locked and outpatient settings and experience leading group programs in English and Spanish.
What credentials and location apply?
She is a licensed clinical social worker - LCSW - and practices in Missouri while listing licensure in California and Illinois as well.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
Yes, she accepts international clients. Sessions are offered in English.
What formats are available for sessions?
Sessions can be done by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on preference.
How are sessions paid for and what do costs look like?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling sessions according to therapist availability.
More therapists in Missouri
See all
David Markowitz
LPC
Experienced counselor blending talk and hypnotherapy
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
Darcel Tyson
LPC
Empathetic counselor helping people make practical change
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship
- Family
Is this your profile?
Ask us to correct details or take the page down.
Contact us