Hidden Gems: Meet Paula Passanisi of Paula Passanisi

Hi Paula, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! Thanks for having me. I’m Paula Passanisi and I’m a psychotherapist in private practice in Austin, TX.

It all started when I was 15. I read the book, The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck, and knew that psychotherapy was my path. The book details the experiences of the author’s career as a psychotherapist, offering insight on confronting problems through the key principles of discipline, love and grace. I was inspired to live as closely to these principles as I could, so that when I would become a psychotherapist, I’d be able to help a wide range of people from a perspective of mindfulness.

I’ve pretty much stayed true to that intention since I set it. When I was 16, I traveled to the Czech Republic to be an exchange student for a year. I learned a different culture and met so many different kinds of people. Most importantly, I noticed that wherever I went, I would find myself easily able to make meaningful connections with the people I met. This awareness showed me how comfortable I felt getting to know complete strangers and holding space for whatever people wanted to share with me. I also realized early on that I loved traveling to and being immersed in different cultures. I kind of feel like that is what I do all day, sitting in sessions with clients. I am transported into their worlds and learning about things from their perspective. It is really interesting for me to hear all the different ways people experience life.  

After high school, I went on to get my bachelors degree at University of Massachusetts Amherst. I majored in Sociology, where I was taught about intersectionality for the first time. Intersectionality is a framework that explains how different aspects of a person’s identity, like their race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability, overlap to create unique experiences. This is a lens that I hold in my interactions, both clinically and personally, with others. At UMass, I took an Intro to Social Work course, and knew that would be the next step on my career path. I really resonated with the kindness of the professor and how she viewed her work with an open heart. Her way of relating to her students and her patients felt so human to me, and I hoped that I would be a lot like that too, once I began my career in helping others.

Upon graduation, I went on to volunteer with Americorps in San Francisco, working with children at an after-school program and in Boston, pairing elementary school students with the elderly to provide companionship and mentorship. Once I completed my Americorps assignment, I joined the PACT (Program for Assertive Community Treatment) Team in Boston, as a Case Manager. The PACT team was composed of hard-working, compassionate clinicians and nurses. Our job, as a team, was basically to bring psychiatric care that was typically provided in the hospital to the clients in their homes and communities.This experience really formed my understanding of the challenges of people living with severe and persistent mental illnesses. It definitely prepared me for the next step in my career. I felt ready to become a clinical social worker.

Next stop, graduate school! I went to Smith College School for Social Work and graduated with my MSW in 2010. My first job as a clinical social worker was in community health, north of Boston. Then I moved to San Francisco, and became the Clinical Director of a Crisis Facility for one of the most underserved populations in California, adults with developmental disabilities. This experience brought my compassion for humanity to a whole new level and I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to learn, grow, and provide counsel in that environment. 

Then I went on to become a clinical social worker at the PACE program in San Francisco. The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps elderly people receive health care in the community instead of in a nursing home. Community mental health is so necessary for society and I am so glad to have been able to help others in this area of social work.

Another thing that was happening while I was living in San Francisco was that I had developed a really strong daily yoga practice. I firmly believe that the discipline in my yoga practice made me a better clinical social worker. It is a practice of self-compassion, self-awareness and conscious movement of breath through the body, all things that I think can really support people in helping professions. It got to the point where I needed to make a choice: social work or yoga. This was a really difficult decision, as I was terrified to step away from a career that I was passionate about building; I hadn’t gone into private practice yet! That was my intention from the beginning, how could I step off the path? Well, I was granted a month leave from work and took a 200 hour yoga teacher training that solidified the next step on my path. The confidence I gained in learning to teach yoga gave me the courage to move back to Massachusetts and open a yoga studio, which I did exactly two months after I completed that training.

Teaching yoga was so natural for me and I loved every minute of it. I owned a studio called Yoga Joy in Massachusetts for about 4 years and it will always be a very special memory in my heart. I enjoyed sharing yoga with others and after class, students would often tell me they felt like they just had an amazing therapy session. I guess I couldn’t hide my purpose, not even in my love of yoga. However, I still had an unfinished goal that I couldn’t ignore anymore. I still hadn’t realized my dream to become a psychotherapist in private practice. So I moved to Austin, TX and did it. I opened my own psychotherapy practice in September 2017, and I’ve been doing it ever since. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been easy, no. It has been clear from the beginning, though. I always knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Some of the struggles along the way were around acquiring the 3,000 clinical hours in order to become a fully licensed clinical social worker in Texas. It is the most grueling part of becoming a licensed therapist, in my opinion! In the beginning, I didn’t really know what to look for in a supervisor and I wish I had done more research and maybe even trusted myself more, before choosing clinical supervisors. Looking back, I would say to my younger self, “Take your time and find a supervisor whom you resonate with, and make sure that they have a lot more experience than you.” In the end, I did find a wonderful supervisor, and that made a world of a difference and helped me to get a better understanding of the supervisory support in the profession. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the states of Texas and Massachusetts. I offer individual psychotherapy sessions, virtually and in-person, in my sunny, plant-filled office in Central Austin. I have a deep sense of compassion for people who have taken roads less travelled in life, either by conscious choice or by seeming happenstance. Self-Compassion, Mindfulness Therapy and Psychedelic Integration are my treatment modalities and I specialize in helping people through Anxiety, Depression, and Life Transitions. I aim to get at the root of things, so that my clients can navigate through life with grace and an increasing sense of wholeness. As an intersectional feminist, I don’t discriminate against anyone and I am a part of the LGBTQ community.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
The people who have played the biggest role in my success would have to be the big-hearted clinicians in community health on the teams I got to be a part of. Keith Wales, LICSW in Boston was an inspiration at the beginning of my career and Erica Falk, PsyD in San Francisco was a role model for me. Many thanks to Melissa Haney, LCSW-S in Austin for her wisdom and support. Also, I am so grateful to all my yoga teachers for teaching me to ground myself in my own presence. And lastly, my spouse and two cats, Harry and Lucy, deserve the most credit for their love and cuteness which gives me so much life, always.

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