Christina Patera

Resident Therapist / Outreach Manager

Clientele: Adolescents (12+), Adults; Parents and Caregivers

Specialties: Trauma and childhood adversity, anxiety and chronic stress, high-conflict and abusive relationships, life transitions, burnout and caregiver fatigue, emotional regulation, substance use and recovery, parenting support, self-worth and identity

Approach: CBT, DBT, mindfulness, solution-focused therapy, trauma-informed, somatic-informed

Insurance & Private Pay rate: $30 telehealth, $50 in person

Helping You Move From Survival Mode to Feeling Safe, Connected, and Like Yourself Again

You may have spent so much of your life surviving that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to truly live.

I understand that more personally than I wish I did.

My own life has included experiences with trauma, abuse, high-conflict relationships, burnout, and supporting someone I love through significant mental health struggles. I’ve also walked alongside my own children as they navigated trauma, which taught me how differently each person responds to experiences that overwhelm their sense of safety.

Those experiences changed the way I understand healing.

Sometimes you can know intellectually that something is over and still feel it in your body. Your mind says, “I’m safe now,” while your nervous system remains on alert. You may overreact to something small, shut down during conflict, constantly scan other people’s moods, struggle to trust, or feel anxious without fully understanding why.

Maybe you’re recovering from an abusive or high-conflict relationship. Maybe childhood experiences are still affecting your relationships today. Or perhaps you’ve spent years taking care of everyone else while quietly becoming exhausted and disconnected from yourself.

Whatever brought you here, I believe there is a difference between simply surviving your life and actually feeling safe enough to live it.

What It's Like to Work With Me

I believe you’ve done what you needed to do to survive.

The patterns you struggle with today may once have helped protect you. Staying alert, shutting down, keeping the peace, taking care of everyone else, or disconnecting from difficult emotions aren’t signs that something is wrong with you. They may be ways your mind and body learned to keep you safe.

Therapy with me isn’t about judging those responses or forcing them away.

We’ll approach them with curiosity and compassion—understanding where they came from, recognizing how they helped you, and gradually developing new ways of responding that fit the life you’re living now.

Together, we may work on:

Trauma and childhood adversity
Anxiety and chronic stress
Abusive or high-conflict relationships
Relationship patterns and boundaries
Emotional overwhelm and disconnection
Burnout and caregiver fatigue
Substance use and recovery
Major life transitions
Rebuilding identity and self-worth
Parenting a child or teen through difficult experiences

My goal is to create a relationship where you feel genuinely seen, understood, and safe enough to explore what you’ve been carrying.

Trauma Doesn't Only Live in Our Thoughts

One area I’m especially passionate about is understanding the connection between trauma and the body.

After difficult or frightening experiences, you may logically understand that the danger has passed while your body continues responding as though it hasn’t.

You might notice tension you can’t seem to release, a racing heart, difficulty relaxing, emotional numbness, shutting down during conflict, or feeling constantly “on.”

For some people, their own body no longer feels like a safe place to be.

I’m deeply interested in how nervous-system regulation, mindfulness, breath, movement, and body awareness can support trauma recovery. As I continue developing as a therapist, I am intentionally expanding my education in trauma-focused and mind-body approaches.

In our work, we can begin by noticing these responses without judgment and developing greater awareness of what helps you experience safety, connection, and choice.

Supporting Children Changed How I Understand Trauma

Some of my most meaningful lessons about trauma didn’t come from a textbook.

They came from supporting my own children through difficult experiences.

I learned how differently children can communicate distress and how much healing depends on safety, consistency, connection, and having adults who are willing to truly listen.

That experience is one reason I care deeply about working with adolescents and supporting parents who are trying to help their children through difficult seasons.

Sometimes parents don’t need someone telling them what they’re doing wrong.

They need someone who understands how difficult it is to watch your child struggle and can help the family find a path forward.

My Approach

My approach is warm, collaborative, strengths-based, and trauma-informed.

I have training in Motivational Interviewing and foundational exposure to CBT and DBT, and I incorporate mindfulness and trauma-informed practices into my work.

I’m also continuing to deepen my education in trauma treatment and have a particular professional interest in EMDR, nervous-system regulation, somatic approaches, and other therapies that recognize the connection between mind and body.

As a Resident Therapist, I bring curiosity and openness to this work while practicing with clinical supervision and continuing to build advanced skills in the areas I’m most passionate about.

Therapy won’t look exactly the same for everyone. We’ll move at a pace that respects your experiences, your goals, and your readiness.

Who I Work Best With

I especially enjoy working with:

Adolescents and young adults healing from difficult experiences
Adults with histories of trauma or childhood adversity
People recovering from abusive, narcissistic, or high-conflict relationships
People experiencing anxiety, burnout, or emotional disconnection
Individuals who feel stuck in survival mode
Individuals navigating substance use or recovery
Parents supporting children or teens through emotional or behavioral struggles
People who understand their patterns intellectually but still feel them emotionally or physically

A Bit About Me

My passion for this work is deeply personal.

I’ve learned through my own experiences that healing is rarely linear. There can be progress and setbacks, strength and exhaustion, grief and hope—all existing at the same time.

I’ve also learned that surviving difficult experiences can make us incredibly strong while still leaving parts of us that need care.

That’s why I don’t approach therapy believing that I need to “fix” you.

I want to understand you.

And together, we can begin separating what you needed to survive then from what you need to live fully now.

Get in Touch Now

Healing isn't about erasing the past. It's about reclaiming your future.

You don’t have to become a different person or pretend that what happened didn’t matter.

My hope is to help you understand what you’ve been through, reconnect with the parts of yourself that may have gotten lost along the way, and gradually build a life where you feel safer, more connected, and more fully yourself.

If you’ve spent long enough surviving, I’d be honored to walk alongside you as you begin learning how to live again.

THERAPY THAT FITS YOU

Take the First Step Toward Healing

You don’t have to go through this alone. We’re here to help.