Paula Schonauer, MSW, LCSW

As a long time advocate for the LGBTQ community in Oklahoma, I have acquired an abundance of knowledge and experience regarding the challenges of being a queer-identified person living in a Red State. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 5 years experience as a therapist. I specialize in helping people work with microaggressions in daily life, processing traumatic experiences, and building self esteem.

I enjoy helping people find and refine their voices within personal relationships, professional environments, and public engagement. I find the best therapeutic relationships start with authentic engagement, a nonjudgmental attitude, and an unconditional positive regard. I strive to build a person-centered rapport based upon respect, acceptance, and honesty. It's important to build coping skills to manage invalidating environments, overwhelming emotions, and trauma reactions triggered while performing activities of daily living.
I am a person-centered therapist. I care about the person in front of me, who that person is, how that person navigates life, and how that person processes experiences. I work to understand before seeking to be understood, and I listen with interest and patience, allowing people to process their fears, concerns, and stress as well as their accomplishments.
Clients will find a passionate and committed therapist, an advocate and mentor, someone who has been there and back, willing to share her wisdom and insight. Please call/email so we can talk before scheduling a session. I will do my best to answer your questions and provide comfort while you look for a therapist best fit for your needs.