Paula Kettula, LCSW

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Paula Kettula, LCSW Paula Kettula, LCSW is the owner of Porta Verum Psychotherapy Services. Paula holds a master's degree in social work from San Diego State University.

We help people heal from traumas, and overcome mental, emotional, psychological and relationship challenges so that you can experience life with joy, connection, empowerment and love. Paula Kettula is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working with children and families for over 20 years. She also has a diploma in Montessori education from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). In addition, Paula is a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) and is trained in EMDR, Sandplay Therapy, Play Therapy and Transformational Leadership. Paula is the creator and the host of a massively successful online parenting summit called “Becoming a Peaceful Parent” that was attended by 31 world renown parenting experts including Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Rick Hanson, Dr. Laura Markham, Debbie Reber and many others. In her role as a psychotherapist and a transformational parent coach, Paula works closely with parents to help them connect with the heart and soul of their children by using a love-centered approach infused with the power of the latest research findings from developmental neuroscience and trauma research. Paula has developed a unique approach to parenting based on a powerful transformational leadership framework which she is using to empower parents to become conscious, confident, and inspiring parents so they can create authentic, connected, and loving relationships with their children.

08/26/2026

You're not your emotions. 🤍

One small shift in language can change your relationship with difficult emotions.

Instead of saying:
"I am anxious."

Try:
"Anxiety is present."

You're not denying what you feel. You're simply recognizing that your emotions are experiences—not your identity.

✨ Try it in the comments:
What's present for you right now?

➡️ Save this for the next time your emotions feel overwhelming, and send it to someone who needs the reminder.

08/04/2026

A wandering mind doesn't just steal the hard hours. It takes the good ones too.

The dinner you'd been looking forward to all week...
The last morning of a trip...
The conversation you'd give anything to have again...

Harvard found we're somewhere other than where we actually are about half our waking hours. And a wandering mind, they found, is an unhappy mind.

You can't stop your mind from wandering. Trying to stop your mind from thinking is like trying to stop your heart from beating.

The skill isn't stopping it. It's coming back to the present moment—and that's what mindfulness actually is. It takes seconds, and it's trainable.

In my free training, Calm Is a Skill. Nobody Taught You., I'll guide you through three simple ways to come back. You won't just hear about them—we do all three together. None take more than five minutes.

Link in the comments 👇

07/30/2026

"Just calm down."

Has that ever worked? Even once?

It's not because something's wrong with you. It's because it aims at the wrong target. 🎯

Racing thoughts may just be the smoke—the fire may be a nervous system stuck in alarm mode. And you can't think your way out of a state your body is in.

So you fight the thoughts, lose, and wonder why everyone else seems to manage. (They're not managing. They were just never taught either. 😅)

Calm isn't a personality trait. It's a skill.

In my free training—Calm Is a Skill. Nobody Taught You.—I'll show you why nothing has worked so far, and you'll experience three simple ways to help shift your nervous system. We'll practice them together: Anchor in Presence, The Thought Game, and The Regulation Switch.

Free training • minutes-a-day tools • available for a limited time.

Link in the comments 👇

07/29/2026

😌Mindfulness is a helpful tool to handle every day stressors like dealing with long lines at the post office… being stuck in traffic… not to mention those automated phone systems that loop us around 🔁

In this video, I share a personal story how mindfulness helped me feel calmer and connect with the present moment.

Did you know that calm is actually a skill?

It’s something anyone of us can lean. The problem is that nobody taught us how!

I have a free training about all this where I talk about the biggest mistake people make that actually doesn’t help them feel calmer and what to do instead!

You can sign up for the training absolutely free!

Link in the comments 👇

07/19/2026

"You don't have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy. It's okay to come because you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or you simply want to understand yourself better. There doesn't need to be one big trauma — and it's never too early to start."
— Logan West Mathews, LMFT, LPCC

Sometimes it feels like nothing should technically be wrong. And yet.

Maybe you're worn down by expectations you put on yourself — ones nobody else actually set. Maybe you're in the middle of a change everyone calls normal (a move, a new job, a relationship shifting) and you can't explain why it's leveling you. Maybe you've been who everyone else needs for so long that you've lost track of who you are underneath.

Logan works with adults and older teens across California. Practical, conversational, no performing required—and he's big on solution-focused work, so you leave with something you can actually use this week.

Ready to take the first step?

🌐 Learn more: https://www.portaverum.com

📞 Book a free consultation: https://zencare.co/practice/porta-verum-psychotherapy-services - a 1-on-1 phone call with our client care specialist to talk through fit and insurance.

💬 Send us a secure message: https://tinyurl.com/3arb53vu

07/09/2026

The biggest mistake we make with difficult emotions 👇

I remind my clients all the time: they're so quick to validate everyone else's feelings, but the moment they feel crappy, guilty, sad, anxious, or overwhelmed, they tell themselves it shouldn't be happening—or they rush to make it go away.

When every uncomfortable emotion becomes something to fix, it's easy to start believing something is wrong with you.

But that's not true.

Mindfulness teaches something radically different: instead of fighting your emotions, you learn to notice them, make space for them, and respond with kindness rather than judgment.

That's often where healing begins.

🌱 Anchored Heart & Mind—my mindfulness meditation program for mental health—opens in early August. Inside the program, I teach the practice of mindfulness of emotions—so you can meet yourself with a little more kindness, even on the hard days.

Join the priority waitlist and receive my free 10-minute Self-Compassion Meditation so you can start being kinder to yourself right away.
👉 paulakettulalcsw.com/ahm-update

07/02/2026

Meet Isabel Bajonero, AMFT 🌿

Therapy that meets you where you are—because every person, every family, and every journey is different.

Isabel works with children, teens, adults, and families across California, supporting anxiety, ADHD, autism, life transitions, and relationships—with play therapy for kids and a warm, collaborative approach with parents.

✨ Ready to take the first step?
🌐 Visit our website: https://www.portaverum.com
💬 Send us a secure message: https://tinyurl.com/sendsecuremessage

Isabel Bajonero, AMFT #160630, supervised by Paula Kettula, LCSW #25403.

06/29/2026

I don't know about you, but I've noticed that trying to fix the messiness of my life… isn't really working 😫
Clean up one mess, another one pops right up. 🙃
So I figured — maybe I should stop trying to fix my life and try something else entirely.
Here's why rushing to fix everything backfires — and what to do instead. 🪷
If you're tired of trying to force it all into place — you're my people. Follow for more mindfulness that actually meets real life.

06/27/2026

💆‍♀️Sneak peek to the Stress Response Reset Class tomorrow Saturday June 27 10am at our peaceful Hillcrest office.

Check this page to find out more about the Stress Response Reset Classes, and get on the interest list ➡️ https://www.paulakettulalcsw.com/The-Stress-Response-Reset

06/17/2026

The most damaging story you believe about yourself doesn't feel like a story.

It feels like a fact.

That's what makes it so powerful — and so hard to escape. When we hold a belief like I'm not enough or I always get left, our minds quietly collect the evidence to keep it true. Psychologists call it self-verification. We protect our self-image even when it's breaking our heart.

26 years as a psychotherapist taught me that these beliefs are nearly impossible to spot alone. Not because you're not self-aware, but because the mind is built to defend them.

If this resonated, come find us at ➡️ www.portaverum.com. Reach out when you're ready 💚

Address

3911 5th Avenue, Suite 208
San Diego, CA
92103

Telephone

+16195775057

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