Meet Christine Paulsen (She/Her)
A blog written by me (Charlie, founder of EIQ) from a 1:1 interview with Christine. Christine thank you for all that you do for our the queer community and beyond.
Christine is an experienced queer therapist liscensed in California and Nevada working with the LGBTQ+, kink, fetish, BDSM, polyamorous, and many more communities!
Christine, first off - thank you for being vulnerable with me and sharing a touch of your story. You are so inspiring to me!
If you hold judgements about (or are unfamiliar with) the communities that Christine works with then I ask you to lean in with an open heart and an open mind. The experience of discomfort and unfamiliar scenarios are part of the human experience.
Christine grew up in Salinas, CA; two areas of the country that are known for being conservative and lacking diversity. This experience was very impactful for Christine and inspired her to be a beacon of hope for the queer and trans community in the larger Bakersfield area.
Christine uses a psychotherapeutic approach in her practice, meaning that she examines the biological, psychological, and social aspects of her clients' lives. Based on my conversation with Christine, this approach allows her to examine the various pieces of the puzzle that make up her clients' lived experiences; providing both her and her clients a greater level of understanding.
She shared with me that her practice is one of the only organizations in the Bakersfield area to acknowledge working with the queer, kink, fetish or polyamorous communities. I have a lot of friends, myself included, that are part of one or multiple of those communities. For Christine to be a resource for the community of Bakersfield and beyond is live-saving.
During our interview, I asked Christine about the challenges that come with running her first therapy practice. She responded by sharing "I was homeless at one point in my life. I didn't have the community to lean on to ask how to file my taxes or register my LLC. I had to figure all of that out on my own. So much of running a business is foreign to me. However, when I got into this industry, my colleagues and folks around me in the therapy profession were always holding space for me to ask any questions. Taxes as a therapist- it's a nightmare." I have several therapist friends and they have all shared the struggles of doing taxes in their profession. Maybe you can relate with Christine?
Next I asked Christine about what her biggest wins and successes have been so far. She shared that being licensed since 2021 and seeing her business grow to its current state today have been big wins. She also shared that “success, to me, is seeing my clients succeed. When they feel they don't need therapy anymore, that is a win to me.”
For me, one of things I love hearing about is who most inspires the people I interview, so you can expect to see this question popping up regularly. For Christine, her biggest inspiration is the queer youth. This response created a moment of reflection for both of us as we thought back to our younger selves when we weren't out. We both agreed that we see a lot of youth today who feel empowered to live openly at much younger ages than we were able to (only a short time ago). This is progress. And this progress exists because of people like you, the readers of this newsletter.
Finally, we both agreed that it breaks our hearts to see how hard it is for the trans and non-binary youth to receive the care they deserve; for them to just feel heard and seen. If you are a parent or a loved one of a trans or non-binary youth, know that there are millions of us who see your kiddo with our full hearts.
Christine is available to see new clients that reside in California or Nevada. You can contact Christine through the link here! Christine offers free consultations over the phone.
Christine, you are changing the world for the queer and trans + more communities every day through the work that you do. Thank you for dedicating so much of your time to allow humans to feel seen and heard.
Therapy has only helped me show up better for my community and y'all.
