Paula
Straube
Therapy
Special focus on working with gender, sexual and relationship diversity (GSRD), especially queer identities including kink and BDSM, as well as with neurodivergent clients, couples, throuples, polycules, and anyone exploring non-normative relationship forms.
Qualifications
I hold a COSCA Diploma in Counselling using Transactional Analysis and completed four years of training in Transactional Analysis psychotherapy. I offer counselling and psychotherapy.
Qualified Memberships
I am a member of UKATA and EATA and adhere to their codes of ethics.
Contact
mobile
+44 (0) 78 601 588 10
email
mail@paulastraube.com
Address for in-person sessions
Physis Scotland
22 Drumsheugh Gardens
Edinburgh
EH3 7RN
Fees
£75 / 50-minute individual sessions
£120 / 60-minute sessions for couples, throuples and polycules (therapeutic systems)
I believe therapy should be accessible. All fees are negotiable, and no one will be turned away because of money.
Thank you for taking the time to consider whether you might wish to work with me.
About me and my approach to psychotherapy
We all live in a world that is often complex to navigate, both personally and societally. It is full of challenges that place pressure on our identity and our relationships. It is natural for this to make us feel anxious, angry, depressed, alienated, hostile, withdrawn or numb. These are very human responses and simply mean we have experiences, thoughts and feelings.
Coping mechanisms, although often unhelpful later in life, usually served a very important purpose at one time. This is often part of what brings people into therapy.
If we agree to work together, I would invite you into an exploration of your story so that we can understand what has shaped your life and what makes you uniquely you. Therapy offers a safe space and a valuable connection in which new meanings and ways of thinking can emerge, fostering greater flexibility. Ultimately, it can be a place to make sense of your experiences, learn new skills and transform or let go of what no longer serves you.
I work at each client’s pace. Any change, big or small, no matter how important or constructive, is always also a loss. It involves letting go of something that has been significant in order to reach this point. That loss can feel sad and frightening, or even like disloyalty to yourself or others. I am here to support you in this.
The therapy I offer is typically a longer-term process, often lasting anywhere from six months to three years or more. With individuals, I usually work weekly, and with therapeutic systems such as couples, throuples or polycules, I work on a fortnightly basis.
I trained in Transactional Analysis and feel very rooted in this framework. It offers clear and meaningful philosophical ideas that guide my practice:
People are OK
I truly believe we are all OK at our most fundamental level. We may have disruptive thoughts and behaviours towards others or ourselves, but the core of our being is OK. This implies that each of us is a valuable person in our own right, and we are all equally important. I therefore strive for equality in therapeutic relationships and for shared responsibility to find out who a client or a system is and what they want and need.
Meaning-making
Each of us can think about our experiences in a unique and beautiful way. Everyone has the capacity to discover what truly matters to them and how to make sense of it. My role is to support people and systems on this journey of exploration, while trusting that you alone can decide where to go and which path to take.
Change is possible
We all adopt beliefs and make decisions along the way that, over time, become outdated, but they are in themselves a testament to our creativity. How we live our lives in the present can be based on old decisions, and sometimes those decisions are no longer helpful. As we embark on this exploration, we develop the ability to make new decisions that serve us better in the here and now and help us live in ways that are truer to ourselves.
A meaningful therapeutic relationship has the potential to enhance all other relationships in life. At times, this journey might feel difficult when revisiting vulnerable places, but ultimately, I am convinced that therapy can help you feel better, even if it feels worse at first. I accompany people and systems on this journey while offering a warm, compassionate and holding environment.
I am curious for us to find out together who you are in the world, how you came to be this person and where you want to go.
Most of my experience working therapeutically has been with gender, sexual and relationship diversity (GSRD), especially queer identities including kink and BDSM, as well as with neurodivergent clients, couples, throuples, polycules, and anyone exploring non-normative relationship forms. I can help you work specifically on experiences relating to sexuality and gender, and the therapy I offer is consequently LGBTQIA+ informed and affirmative. I welcome clients and systems of all races, genders, sexual orientations and relationship styles, including all forms of consensual non-monogamy.
I look forward to meeting you if you think this process might be helpful to you.
