About Kim
Kim Padula helps people manage stress, anxiety, mood disorders, addiction, grief, relationship strain, and major life changes. She is a licensed clinical social worker with 26 years of experience and works with LGBT concerns, career questions, compassion fatigue, and caregiver stress. Her focus includes mood disorders such as bipolar and depression, panic attacks, and challenges tied to family history or life transitions.
She uses a strength-based approach that looks for practical ways forward.
How Kim works
Early sessions review a person’s history and the relationships that shaped them. Together they set clear goals and a plan to reach them. Progress and plans are checked and adjusted as needed.
Her work combines client-centered care with cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavior strategies. That means conversations that aim to increase awareness, build coping skills, and change unhelpful thinking and behavior. She also draws on existential and Jungian ideas when exploring meaning and personal identity.
Sessions tend to be collaborative and straightforward. The therapist emphasizes perspective, accountability, and growth. Many clients use therapy to gain more choice in how they respond to life’s challenges.
Kim earned her master’s degree in clinical social work after studying psychology at Vanderbilt University. She brings more than two decades of clinical practice and a practical, empathic manner to each session.
Kim lists 8 ways of working on the entry:
What Kim works with
The areas below are the ones Kim selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Bipolar disorder
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 26 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Tennessee |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches and Online Therapy Options
Kim combines client-centered work with cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior strategies. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and building on a person’s strengths to support change and self-understanding. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can ease anxiety, depression, and mood swings. Dialectical behavior therapy adds practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, and tolerating distress.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, needs, and preferences and then recommend which methods to try. Clients and the therapist review progress and adjust the plan as needed so the approach fits the person and their situation.
Online options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversation and visual cues, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging are helpful for brief check-ins, notes between sessions, or when written communication feels more comfortable. These formats make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into busy lives.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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