Mia DePaolo, MA
pronouns: she|her|hers
Mia DePaolo joined Collaborative Insight Counseling Associates as a pre-LMHC psychotherapist in June 2024.
Mia integrates a person-centered, strength-based approach with a trauma-informed care approach. She believes that clients are the experts of their own selves and lived experiences, many of which have a profound impact on one’s personality, development, internal experience, relationships, emotions, and behaviors. Mia’s goal in providing therapy is to support clients with navigating that impact through providing unconditional positive regard in which her clients are accepted fully, unconditionally, and without judgment. Additionally, Mia recognizes the importance of providing a warm, empathetic space that encourages uncensored exploration and leads to client growth. She is passionate about forming a strong therapeutic alliance with her clients, honoring the empirical research which links the quality of the therapeutic relationship to positive treatment outcomes.
Developing a passion to serve those navigating mental health struggles and life challenges through both lived and professional experience, Mia has built the foundational clinical skills and knowledge that have allowed her to become well-versed in treating depression, anxiety, mood, and trauma/stressor-related disorders. Through her experience, Mia has also become familiar in providing care for a variety of presenting issues, such as, life transitions, family relationships, complex trauma, eating disorders, self-esteem, women’s issues, chronic illness, poverty, and economic hardship.
Mia utilizes a combination of treatment modalities to support those in her care, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Expressive Arts Therapy (EAT), and Narrative Therapy. She also uses holistic “Third-Wave CBT” approaches such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support clients with processing their internal experiences, managing and regulating their emotions, and working towards acceptance and change. Through this diversified clinical orientation, Mia strives to tailor her therapeutic approach and interventions to meet the unique needs of her clients, adhering to her core value that therapy is never “one size fits all.”.
Mia is dedicated to serving historically marginalized communities within her clinical practice, particularly those from Latino cultural backgrounds. After witnessing the trauma and injustices experienced by Latino/a/x individuals within her local community, Mia developed a fervent passion to advocate for underserved Latino communities and began incorporating this passion into her career goals by mastering her Spanish proficiency and enhancing her Latino cultural knowledge. As a White therapist, Mia recognizes the nuance of providing culturally sensitive, accessible treatment and advocating for Latino representation within mental health settings, while also maintaining a position of continuous learning and curiosity about the Latino population and their lived experiences.
““My goal is to support you as a whole person and hold space for your lived experiences through unconditional acceptance and non-judgement, while creating a safe therapeutic environment where you can feel heard and valued.””
Prior to joining CICA, Mia built her clinical experience across a variety of clinical settings, ranging from community mental health agencies to inpatient hospital settings. Mia served a diverse range of clients (children, adolescents, adults, and families) presenting with depression, mood/anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) and facing difficulties such as trauma and loss, life transitions, community stressors, and behavioral challenges.
Most recently, Mia provided In-Home Family Therapy to youth and families in the Greater Boston area, where she embodied her passion for treating underserved populations facing racial, cultural, and socioeconomic barriers. In this role, Mia further enhanced her cultural sensitivity and utilized her bilingual proficiency within her work, thus acquiring a greater competency in understanding how these barriers impact the mental health of marginalized individuals and communities.
Mia earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Lesley University in 2019, where she double-minored in Expressive Arts Therapy and Creative Writing to reflect her passion of fostering creative healing and psychological well-being through art and expression. After gaining work experience in the field of mental health, Mia enrolled in William James College in pursuit of her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, where she expanded on her commitment to serving Latino/a/x individuals by joining William James’ Latino Mental Health Program. Mia earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a Concentration in Latino Mental Health Counseling in June 2024, and is actively working towards obtaining licensure as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
Fun Fact: Mia has nearly fourteen years working in the restaurant industry, spanning throughout her years in college and graduate school and beginning when she was a teenager at her father’s Italian restaurant. Her first job at 14-years-old was preparing her Nonnie’s homemade gnocchi, meatball, and tiramisu recipes to serve to eager customers at the family restaurant. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her favorite place to dine out is Boston’s historic North End neighborhood.
NEW CLIENTS
MIA IS ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS/REFERRALS!
Please click here to request an appointment
Please click here to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consult call
Please click here to learn more about Mia on Psychology Today
EXISTING CLIENTS
Please click here to book/reschedule/cancel an appointment with Mia via SimplePractice
Need Help?
Contact Us