I'm Paola
“Sex is a place of unique expression and constant creation. It is about being curious with your body and intentional with your mind. It is the act of owning your desires while listening to the erotic voice of the other.”
Bio
How it all Began
I was born in Bogota Colombia. I grew up in Colombia in the 90’s – it was a dark and challenging time for my country and our people. I quickly realized that peace did not come easy, and the terrorism in my country was something that I became familiar with at a young age. Still, those experiences inspired my need to understand the human mind and its actions.
I became an observer and began to be curious about my people, my country, and myself. I was able to find purpose and meaning in a time of chaos. When I was 13 years old, my parents began their journey to the United States. Adapting to a new culture and seeking my own identity helped me grow and create new skills to become who I am today. Psychology was simply an explanation to my experiences. It became my purpose, my message, and my passion.
The Story
My Journey
My profession as a psychotherapist was born as a result of my ongoing curiosity about people’s behavior. I was a thinker since I was a little girl. I always asked a lot of questions and spent much of my young adult life acquiring the proper education and degrees to be able to turn my restless curiosity into a solid profession. I began my career in 2001, at which time I was granted the opportunity to begin working as a mentor and counselor at several foster care homes in the city of Miami. I became interested in working with families, realizing that many of the unresolved issues stemmed from poor family dynamics and attachment difficulties.
I became familiar with the foster care system and managed placement for children in Broward County. At the same time, I was also doing in-home therapy, family work, and case auditing for my team. In 2005, I wanted to explore an area of psychology that I had never encountered. I began working at a dual diagnosis day treatment program where the main goal was to help adult clients begin and continue to explore the journey of recovery. I learned to sit with both helplessness and hope, and I learned as much from them as much as they did from me. In 2006, I moved to the city of Boston. My path began at the South End Community health center where I had the opportunity to work with the Latino community in Boston; it was my home away from home. I continued my work with children, families, and adult clients. I learned the culture of the city through them, and they played a crucial role in my transition to a new city.
In 2009, I became interested in starting a part time private practice in the city of Boston- where I had my first experiences working with couples. I was intrigued at the dynamics of relationships and began to want to understand how love and hurt can co-exist.
Even though couple’s therapy can be challenging, I noticed my comfort with both the masculine and feminine energies, and I knew this was my next calling.
At that point, I fully transitioned to working with adults. Shortly after, I became interested in sex therapy and began formal training in New York City in 2014. Since then, I have become Nationally certified as a sex therapist and have conducted trainings and workshops focusing on couple’s treatment, sex, and sexuality. In 2016, I relocated to Miami, a familiar place to me, yet also so different from the place I had left ten years prior. Today, I am one of the few Latina Sex therapists in Miami, and the only bilingual/bicultural sex therapist that completed their training through AASECT (American association of sexuality educators, counselors and therapists.) I have a thriving practice, Life Discovery Psychotherapy, where I work with individuals and couples. My future vision is to reach more people and have a voice in the Latino community. I believe education is power and sexual knowledge is a human right.