Paul Kim (he/they)

My Background and Approach

I work with clients experiencing: Depression, Anxiety, Adjustment Disorder, ADHD & neurodivergent traits, burnout, relationship concerns, historical and intergenerational traumas, exploring your sexual identity and non-monogamy. I'm most passionate about working with BIPOC, 1st & 2nd generation immigrants, and queer identifying clients. I like to meet my clients where they are at, whether this is your first time in therapy or you have been in counseling for years. Most therapists have been trained in talk therapy approaches like CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) which can be effective, to a point. When clients are ready for it, I like to go deeper and address the core issues of what is causing emotional suffering. This encompasses: trauma informed care, motivational interviewing, narrative therapy approaches, non-violent communication, and using IFS (internal family systems) to examine your somatic parts that overwhelm your nervous system.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

As a result of my intersecting identities and experiences, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the social determinants of health. Among them: adverse childhood experiences, the lack of affordable housing, income inequality, inequitable access to education, opportunity hoarding, the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality, intergenerational trauma, and how all of these influences impact overall suffering and society. I like to examine systems and institutions - they inform the ways that we perceive the world, how we relate to others, and the type of choices we make (or the lack of choices we have). Land acknowledgement: Operating on the ancestral lands of Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla and many other First Nations.