Welcome Home. Here, Us, Now.
A space for all of us seeking what's real and sacred in a world that rushes past the soul.
Welcome Home. Here, Us, Now.
A Conversation About Clinical Services
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Dr. Paulina Guzzardo discusses clinical services at UGM-TC
Warm Welcome And Guest Intro
SPEAKER_03Welcome Home Hear Us Now. A space for all of us seeking what's real and sacred in a world that rushes past the soul. I'm Eric Engelman, co-host of the Welcome Home Hear Us Now podcast at Union Gospel Mission in Tarrant County. And to my side is my co-host, President, and CEO, Charles Wolford. Good morning.
SPEAKER_04Good morning, Eric. Given that I'm sitting to your side, does that mean I'm your sidekick? I think it's the other way around. Oh, you're right. But I'm trying to make I'm trying to sound important. Oh, okay. Well, I graciously take that position as your sidekick. It is a joy to be on this podcast this morning with you, my friend and brother Eric. We have an exciting guest with us today, and we want to welcome our family into the podcast. Pull up a seat because I promise you you will be blessed by our time together today. We have a guest with us, Dr. Paulina Gazzardo, and she serves here at the Union Gospel Mission of our Director of Clinical Services. Dr. Paulina, welcome to the Welcome Home Podcast.
SPEAKER_01Charles, thank you.
Dr. Paulina’s Path To Therapy
SPEAKER_04So good to have you. So very good to have you. We're going to jump right in and uh just start our dialogue and our conversation. Welcome home is really about a place of belonging. And the space that we find ourselves in here at Union Gospel Mission, so many of our neighbors are trying to find a place to belong and a place that they would call home. And you have the fortune of bringing to Union Gospel Mission your gifts and talents. Let's tell talk a little bit about your journey. You are a PhD marriage and family clinician. You also have a master's in marriage and family therapy as well. Talk with us just a little bit about your professional journey and these credentials that you have. Congratulations for the most part, but tell us a little bit about that journey and how you got into this work.
SPEAKER_01I started out in Florida. This was back in 2001. And I ended up uh moving to New York and I got my bachelor's in psychology, and I realized that this made sense to me. I pursued that. I went back to Florida and I ended up finding this degree, marriage and family therapy. And as I'm looking at it, I realized this is another one of those things that makes sense to me. I just felt energized, electrified. It was like I was looking for something and God led me there. Then after I graduated, I uh was working on my licensure hours. That took about five years to get all 3,000, and I um had a couple of kids and was married. And about 10 years later, I decided, I got a flyer in the mail that said, you know, marriage and family therapy program, first cohort, 2014 at Texas Wesleyan University. So I thought, well, this is a sign. I really believe in signs. The way that God talks to me is very practical as well as spiritual, physical, all of it. So I started to pursue this plan. And then I graduated in 2018. Also, about 10 years ago, I used to volunteer at the Presbyterian Night Shelter. I did that for a couple seasons, and my children would come with me and play on the playground with the kids there, and I would spend time uh reading the Bible and just encouraging mothers. So I saw Union Gospel Mission across the way, and I thought, okay, I'm you know that that must be another shelter. So I started looking around. I wasn't happy with my current job at the middle school, and I instead of counselor, I put in director. And this job posting uh came up. And um, long story short, I reached out and I got to speak with Cynthia Williams. She saw she saw a vision that I was having and she believed in me.
The Power Of Presence
SPEAKER_03I want to ask you something here. I've heard you say the word presence a couple of times while we were setting up and interviewing. So between uh presence and volunteering, it just sounds like coming and showing up and listening make a difference. What what is your thought about that?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I think um just being with people, just having them feel like you don't expect anything from them. You just want to connect with them that you believe in their journey, whatever it might be. Kind of a discovery together, but it but it's that kind of some sort of divine hope, some sort of knowing, knowing that this person has the potential to do anything, just like me. Wow.
What Actually Happens In Therapy
SPEAKER_04And and let's let's unpack a little bit the the idea of clinical services and counseling and therapy, because uh we in the industry use some of those terms interchangeably, and whether you have clinical work or a therapist, a counselor, um would you just bring you know to the bottom shelf for us what happens in therapy when we hear of a person, a therapist doing therapy, what really happens in therapy?
SPEAKER_01What I'm looking for is to create an experience with a person, to co-create an experience where they experience what's happening in their life just a little bit differently. Something that when they leave the room is going to affect every other aspect of their life.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's beautiful. Then I want to go on record saying 100% a fan of counseling therapy. Uh I have been the beneficiary of that to the very statement that you're making for an opportunity just to be in space with someone or a group of individuals so that you can be seen, and there's this moment where maybe a a cloud or a fog may have been there and it gets opened up and a person can think a little bit clearer and see a little bit clearer. So thank you so much for that explanation. Let's talk a little bit more specifically about the clinical services at Union Gospel Mission in Terran County. Would you unpack what happens in clinical services at Union Gospel Mission of Terran County?
SPEAKER_01Sure. So what happens here is a lot of things. Um, as we know that um one size fits one. So we do uh hold on.
One Size Fits One Philosophy
SPEAKER_04Eric needs you to stop there for a little bit because the blessing in that statement is what Eric, that's really what we believe, because to Dr. Paulina's statement is sometimes you try to put everybody and treat everybody the same, but in clinical services here, that is a banner statement. One size fits one, not a one size fits all. So thank you for that. I I I I I'm glad you had that moment, but it is for us a true intentionality here in Union Gospel Mission. So go forward with that. I I like parking in the garage when places and spaces allow us just to settle and let that fit a little bit.
SPEAKER_03One size fits one.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, absolutely. Um so we we see each other and equalize as human beings, all um brothers and sisters of Christ, and and that way we are all equal. At the same time, um each person brings a different experience to the therapy and requires a different way. And that's that's our job, my job, and the therapist's job, our interns. So we do traditional counseling sessions. Sometimes it's one hour a week, sometimes it's more, yeah, because we know people need that. They need a lot of support when they're going through this and um growing and changing and and adjusting. We also do support groups, and that we find has been really interesting as far as uh sh teaching people how to relate to each other and support each other, how to spread that love, if you will, how to be there for each other and and the wisdom that comes out of these support groups. It's just beautiful. I just I sit back and I say, you know, I don't, they they know everything.
SPEAKER_00And God is is with us here.
Counseling, Groups, And Everyday Moments
SPEAKER_01Um yesterday uh an intern and I, we played some ping pong. Uh we played a game and we had a couple of guys just hanging out, and then they started playing with us. Uh the winner would stay, and then somebody else would join. And we just talked, we we just uh hung out. I think part of what counseling looks like here is that just being without scripts, without agendas, without manuals. I think people are expecting uh something like that from us. And now, you know, to say that as we're nurturing relationships, we are trying to bring them in to be able to share uh the things that are getting in the way of their progress, of what they need to do. However, we have to remind ourselves, um as a beautiful woman, Harlene Anderson, that I that I uh really respect once said in the counseling world uh that we are guests and hosts in a person's life.
SPEAKER_04Wow, wow.
SPEAKER_01So as as we ask for permission, we are hosting something as well. And I I think people need gentleness. People need uh to feel that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So if you were hosting this podcast, what question would you feel comfortable asking? We by the way, uh Dr. Wolford and I are addicted to podcasting.
SPEAKER_04We Tuesdays come and we just so so that does that mean this is therapy for us, Eric? Is that what this is? I'm getting I'm enjoying it. There we go. Pull up a chair.
SPEAKER_01I think it's incredibly therapeutic. It would be interesting to have a resident sitting here with us telling us about their experience. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04We need to make that happen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That that would be important. What question would I ask? Um I guess how could we be more present here? What would that look like? Uh how can we be more available in ways that really make meaningful change? Now I'm not saying more, I'm saying quality.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm saying uh what is that? What is that? What is the essence of that? I just want to grab it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And I'm a little familiar with the life cycle cycle of podcasts. I mean, they they go out, people listen to them. Often there's there's like a next action that is, I think, missing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Uh and you know we we offer a website to come to, and and Dr. Wolford knows every page of that website uh and and some of the the things that are available to people. But um somehow reaching out, getting I don't what does somebody have to do to get into a little group here at uh UGM? They gotta they gotta fill in an application and uh be part of a program, right?
SPEAKER_04Well, I'll let Dr. Pauling unpack that because what we uh what what is exciting about what's happening here at UGM, January of 2026, we are launching the Welcome Center here, and it is our place and space that everyone who seeks services at UGM will come through the Welcome Center. That will be intake, our assessment center. But in addition to that, is where we will be um able to house our clinical services department that Dr. Parlina Gazzardo is director over. And uh that will be the on-ramping for a lot of the clinical services, but I'll let her talk through how that works today and if an individual's needing some um therapy. How does how does how does that work?
Access Points And Open Chat
SPEAKER_01Sure. So we have a few ways that works. Uh, one way we have an internal referral form, and our case managers will refer clients directly to me, and then I will see um I will get one of the interns or join the intern and we'll kind of start that process. Another way that happens is we have this open chat idea, and um it's just a catchy, catchy phrase, but the but to make it more casual and simple, not less quality, just just simple. We give all of the mission support in our buildings a form every day. And any resident who wants overnight or in whichever of our programs they're staying in, they get to sign up and we try to serve them, we try to meet with them, get together with them. If there's ten people, we might do a group. So really they inform us how we do it, but we try to create these access points, being available, being present, so that people can take a chance, take a risk, because it is a risk to talk to us about the things that are important to them, about their concerns. They're not used to somebody accepting them and loving them. That's you know, sometimes it's being on the playground and seeing, okay, at this time all the kids are there and school's out. So we could attend to that.
SPEAKER_04Would you share a story that may help our listeners really get some idea of the impact that uh the clinical services department is making and you specifically and the clinical team in general? Is there any experience that you can share?
A Mother’s Story Of Change
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Uh so what comes to mind first is uh a young mother that I'm supporting with two children uh under three years old. And uh they did come in as an intact family. However, there were some challenges, and the husband or father is now not with us. And I started uh couples counseling with them and family counseling with them because they were having a challenging time supporting each other and encouraging each other uh through this challenging time that they they are having. And so uh what happened is and I had an intern working with me on that as I'm training them how therapy looks and what it is that we're looking for that those markers that tell us people are improving, they're moving towards health and wellness and being. And so uh I continue to support this family. I have uh helped by giving the mother some practical things like a stroller. Sometimes our sessions are about immediate needs. Uh a lot of the time they are about how the wife and the husband are communicating while the husband is living in his car at the time and working. So I'm coaching her, as they both realize that they compete for who has it worse instead of encourage each other and remind each other that when there's two, if one falls down, the other one can pick them up and to see each other in a different way. So I am working with them as I reach out to him as well. Um, you know, in her presence, when I get to remind her of what an amazing job she's doing being a mother in a place where she could be neglecting her children because she's stressed, she's feels isolated, she uh would like other things, she doesn't know if what God is doing as we remind her that we see it. And so she's very encouraged, she enjoys coming to see me. We meet on Mondays. The difference that I'm talking about that I see is the encouragement, the positivity, her spirit being lifted. Yeah, her doing the things she needs to do here to be successful, her telling me that she said this or that to her husband, and he paused, not knowing how to answer, because it was different than what they usually do.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01So so it's those kinds of things, and they're they're really tiny units of measure between people, but really it's the the difference in relating to to oneself, to each other, to the children, to God. It's it's that difference. How how well am I treating myself actually? You know, am I being kind to myself as I tell her? What have you been saying to yourself lately? Is that is that true? You know, we need to hear that encouragement, and um, I think that that's a fresh ingredient. Yeah, that's beautiful that that we enjoy in therapy. Um any final thoughts? I'll say that you know, being here, and I've been here about seven months now, going on eight months, so fitting to be in a place where I can be myself completely. And and Charles, you trust me to do things out there, and sometimes I think, you know, that's that's really neat. How how how does that happen? I um you know there's this investment in trust, investment in relationship. And maybe maybe that's yeah, that's what I Well praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_04We're so glad that you're here. Were you gonna share a thought there?
Trust, Calling, And Spiritual Care
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there's well the Holy Spirit is the counselor. Yes. And our our listeners may need a little time. Yeah. And uh maybe they can't fill in a former get on uh get on a list with Union Gospel Mission. That's quite possible, but you're on Jesus' list. As a matter of fact, Jesus put you on his list before you were born. That's right. He bought you.
SPEAKER_02That's right.
SPEAKER_03He paid for you with his blood, and there's a renewing in his image that Dr. Paulina's been talking about here. The Lord renews us day by day in conversation with him, but you can't do it alone on this earth. You what you say to yourself is not counsel enough. And there is a presence that the Most High carries, and also that he invests in his people. And we've talked a little bit about that, to receive in Jesus' name the love, joy, peace that he has. Amen.
Being Seen And Closing Blessing
SPEAKER_04I'm thinking about the scenario where Jesus was lounging with the disciples. It says that they're reclining at the table, and their reclining young lady comes to the table, not necessarily invited because it was sort of non-traditional to have the woman to come to the table. She was not invited, but because of the miracle that God had performed in her life, while there she is lathering Jesus with love, with her tears, and she wipes his feet. And there is a portion of that text of scripture where it says Jesus sees her. The writer of Luke pauses enough to say Jesus saw this woman. What I've learned from you today, Dr. Pauline, is the importance of individuals who come to Union Gospel Mission to be seen, for them to be heard. So thank you so much for your gift that you bring to Union Gospel Mission, the years that you've spent training and preparing yourself to let that gift make room for you, and it is doing so. And please know how excited we are uh about the future of the clinical services here at Union Gospel Mission. To our listeners, thank you so much for being a part of our podcast community and our family. Home is about hear us now. It is a place and space that we want to be present and hearing the voice of God. Eric always takes us out much better than I do. Eric, my friend, thank you so much for being here part of our community, and we love you with the love of God.
SPEAKER_03Father in heaven, thank you for your faithfulness in Jesus' name. Thank you to the both of you. Thanks for having us.
