Paula
Straube
Therapy
Private Practice, in-person and online. Special focus on working with gender, sexual, and relationship diversity (GSRD), especially queer identities, including work with neurodivergent clients
Qualifications
I hold a COSCA diploma in Counselling using Transactional Analysis.
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
Fee
£50 / 50 minute individual sessions
Thanks for taking the time to consider whether you might wish to work with me.
About me and my approach to counselling
We all live in a world that is frequently complex to navigate, personally and societally – one that’s full of challenges, putting pressure on our identity or our relationships. It is natural for this to make us feel anxious, depressed, alienated, hostile, withdrawn or numb. These are very human responses, and simply mean we have thoughts and feelings.
Coping mechanisms, although often unhelpful later in life, typically had a very important purpose at one time. This is often one of the reasons why someone seeks counselling in the first place.
If we agree to work together, I would invite you into an exploration of your story, to understand together what has happened in your life that makes you uniquely you. Counselling can provide a safe space and valuable connection which allows us to make new meanings and ways of thinking, ones that allow for greater flexibility. Ultimately, counselling can be a space to learn new skills and to let go of whatever it is that doesn’t work anymore.
I work at each client’s pace: any change, big or small, no matter how important or constructive, is also always a loss. It involves letting go of something that has been very important in order to get here. This loss can feel sad and scary, or even like disloyalty to yourself or others. I am here to support you in this.
I offer long-term or short-term work, according to each person’s needs.
I am a Transactional Analysis counsellor and I feel very rooted within this framework.
Transactional Analysis has simple yet profound philosophical principles, which I hold very dearly:
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 towards 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 as important as each other. I therefore strive for equality in therapeutic relationships, and for shared responsibility to find out who a client is and what they want and need.
We can all think
We all have the capacity to think, each in our beautiful and unique fashion. Everyone, therefore, can have the capacity to work out what they want and how to get there. It is my job to support people on this journey, but you do not need anyone else to decide for you 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 by themselves a testimony to our creativity. How we live our life in the present can be based on old decisions, and sometimes those decisions aren’t helpful any more. As we gain clarity, we forge the ability to make new decisions that serve us better in the here and now and help us live in ways that are more true to us.
A meaningful counselling 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 counselling can help you to feel better, even if it gets worse at first. I accompany people on this journey while offering an environment that is warm, compassionate and where they can feel held.
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 as a counsellor has been in working with gender, sexual, and relationship diversity (GSRD), especially queer identities, including work with neurodivergent clients. I can help you work specifically on experiences relating to sexuality and gender, and the counselling I offer is consequently LGBTQIA+ informed and affirmative. I welcome clients 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.
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