Pam Bolarinho
Supportive family and parenting clinician
- Credentials
- LICSW
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed in
- Massachusetts
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
- Format
- Online sessions
About Pam
Pam Bolarinho is a licensed clinical social worker with two decades of experience. She focuses on family and parenting concerns and addresses stress, anxiety, depression, mood challenges, trauma, and addiction. Pam speaks English and Portuguese and draws on long experience in clinical and leadership roles across hospital and community settings.
She began her social work career in home visiting with the Healthy Families Program and then worked for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
Background and approach
Pam completed a Master of Social Work at Bridgewater State University and served as class representative for her MSW cohort. Over the years she has moved between direct practice and administrative roles while keeping a strong clinical focus.
Pam has led inpatient clinical programs, managed social work teams in an acute medical hospital, and currently serves as a vice president of acute care services. She has partnered with community groups such as the Suicide Prevention Coalition, Help & Hope Southcoast, and local opioid and trafficking task forces. These collaborations inform her practical approach to problem solving.
She helped develop a co-response program with a local police department that delivers community-based care. That program has connected hundreds of people to services and reduced unnecessary emergency room use. Pam brings that same problem-solving orientation to family and parenting work.
In sessions she uses a patient-centered, strength-based stance. Treatment is collaborative and focused on real goals parents and families bring. She combines straightforward skills, motivational techniques, and narrative methods to help people make changes that fit their lives.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on understanding each person where they are. The therapist listens closely, follows the parent or family member's priorities, and builds goals together. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks down thoughts and behaviors into manageable steps and teaches specific skills for anxiety, mood, and coping with stress.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Pam will discuss what feels most useful and adjust methods based on each family's needs, goals, and preferences in a collaborative way. The plan may combine listening, skill practice, and short-term problem-solving to match practical family life.
Online therapy offers several flexible options: video calls for face-to-face conversations, phone sessions when video is not convenient, and live chat or text-based messaging for brief check-ins or coaching. These formats let parents and caregivers fit sessions around school, work, and appointments while keeping continuity of care and access to licensed professionals.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Motivational Interviewing
A way of working through mixed feelings about change without being pushed. The therapist helps you weigh things up and find your own reasons, which often makes a difficult decision feel less stuck.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Pam address related to families?
What style of therapy can I expect in sessions?
How long has Pam worked in social work and clinical roles?
Where is Pam licensed and based?
Which languages are available for sessions?
Can international clients work with this therapist?
What formats are offered for appointments?
How are costs and scheduling handled?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Addictions
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Eating disorders
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Massachusetts
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
Next step
Talk to Pam
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point