Conversations with Dr. Nancy Paloma Collins LMFT-CST

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Nancy Paloma Collins LMFT-CST.

Dr. Nancy Paloma, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey into mental health was anything but traditional. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles, the daughter of Mexican immigrant entrepreneurs who taught me the value of hard work, resilience, and community. My first career was in fashion, where I developed my creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and appreciation for the stories people tell through their identities. But somewhere along the way, I realized that my greatest passion wasn’t simply helping people express who they were on the outside. It was helping them reconnect with who they were on the inside.

As a first-generation Mexican American woman, I grew up understanding the cultural expectations, family dynamics, and unspoken pressures that so many women carry. I witnessed how often women were expected to be strong, sacrifice for others, and remain silent about their emotional needs. Those experiences shaped my desire to create spaces where people could feel seen, heard, and supported without judgment.

That passion eventually led me to earn my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and later my PhD. I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. My doctoral research focused on healthy sexual desire among Latina survivors of domestic violence, exploring the intersection of trauma, cultural identity, relationships, and sexual well-being.

Today, I am the founder of Paloma Therapy, a trauma-informed mental health practice serving individuals, couples, teens, and families throughout California and Texas. What began as my personal vision has grown into a collaborative practice with a team of dedicated mental health professionals who share my commitment to accessible, culturally responsive, and compassionate care. Our work places a strong emphasis on women’s mental health, trauma recovery, relationships, and helping individuals move beyond survival toward meaningful healing.

As my clinical work evolved, I began recognizing another important need: couples often wait until their relationships are in crisis before seeking support. I wanted to change that narrative.

That realization inspired me to create Love by Paloma, a relationship-focused extension of my work dedicated to helping couples strengthen emotional intimacy, rebuild trust, improve communication, and rediscover connection. Through couples therapy, relationship intensives, and my signature LOVE Method, I help partners understand not only how they love each other, but how their individual experiences, attachment patterns, and emotional histories influence the relationships they create.

I believe that healthy relationships require more than love alone. They require emotional safety, vulnerability, intention, and the willingness to grow together.

Beyond my private practice, I am an author, podcast host, community advocate, and passionate supporter of mental health education. Through my podcasts, community workshops, and my Dear Paloma advice column in Adelante Magazine, I work to make conversations about mental health, sexuality, and relationships more accessible, especially in communities where these subjects have historically been surrounded by silence or stigma.

Looking back, I see that my journey from fashion to mental health was never really about changing careers. It was about finding a deeper way to connect with people.

Today, whether I’m sitting with a woman learning to reclaim her voice after trauma, helping a couple find their way back to one another, or mentoring the next generation of therapists, my purpose remains the same: to remind people that their stories do not have to end where their pain began.

At Paloma Therapy, I believe healing begins when we feel safe enough to be ourselves. And through Love by Paloma, I believe love becomes stronger when we learn how to truly see, understand, and choose one another.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the most exciting and vulnerable chapters of my entrepreneurial journey has been creating “Love by Paloma”, my relationship and couples therapy brand. After years of working with individuals and couples, I recognized how many relationships were struggling not because love was absent, but because emotional connection, intimacy, and communication had slowly become lost in the demands of everyday life. As an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, I wanted to create something that went beyond traditional conversations about relationship problems. Love by Paloma was born from my belief that couples deserve intentional spaces to reconnect, rediscover intimacy, and learn how to love each other through the different seasons of life. Through private couples therapy, relationship intensives, and my signature LOVE Method, I help couples move beyond simply staying together toward creating relationships where both partners feel emotionally safe, desired, understood, and valued. Building this brand has also meant challenging cultural taboos around sexuality, intimacy, and asking for relationship support. I want couples to know that they don’t have to wait until their relationship is falling apart to begin investing in their connection.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am Dr. Nancy Paloma Collins, PhD, LMFT, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, and founder of “Love by Paloma”, a relationship-focused brand dedicated to helping couples reconnect, rebuild intimacy, and create more meaningful, intentional relationships.

After years of working with individuals and couples, I recognized something important: many couples don’t necessarily fall out of love. Instead, they become disconnected through the demands of everyday life, unresolved emotional wounds, parenting, careers, and the natural transitions that come with long-term relationships.

That realization inspired me to create Love by Paloma, where I offer private couples therapy, relationship intensives, and my signature “LOVE Method”, designed to help partners strengthen communication, understand their emotional patterns, and rediscover intimacy.

My work is rooted in the belief that couples shouldn’t have to wait until their relationship is in crisis to seek support. I want to normalize relationship wellness as an essential part of our emotional and overall well-being.

Love by Paloma is also a natural evolution of my work as the founder of “Paloma Therapy”, a growing trauma-informed mental health practice serving individuals, couples, teens, and families throughout California and Texas. Through Paloma Therapy, our team specializes in women’s mental health, trauma recovery, and culturally responsive mental health care.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I believe the mental health and relationship wellness industry is entering an exciting period of transformation. Over the next five to ten years, I see a shift from treating mental health and relationships only when something goes wrong to embracing emotional wellness, intimacy, and connection as essential parts of everyday life.

One of the biggest changes I anticipate is how we approach couples therapy. For too long, seeking relationship support has been associated with crisis or the possibility of separation. I believe we’re moving toward a future where couples recognize that investing in their relationship is just as important as investing in their physical and mental health.

This belief inspired me to create “Love by Paloma”, where I focus on helping couples strengthen emotional intimacy, navigate relationship transitions, and reconnect before disconnection becomes a crisis. As a Certified Sex Therapist, I’m also passionate about normalizing conversations around sexual wellness, desire, and intimacy, subjects that have historically carried shame and stigma, particularly within Latino communities.

Through my work as “Director of Health & Wellness for SOMOSLOUD LA”, I’ve also witnessed how important community-based education, cultural representation, and accessible resources are in changing conversations around mental and sexual health. I believe the future of our industry must extend beyond the therapy room and into the communities we serve.

Technology and artificial intelligence will undoubtedly influence how mental health services are delivered, but I believe genuine human connection, empathy, and cultural understanding will remain irreplaceable.

Ultimately, my vision through “Love by Paloma and Paloma Therapy” is to help redefine what emotional and relationship wellness looks like for future generations.

“I want us to move beyond simply teaching people how to survive difficult experiences and begin helping them build lives, relationships, and communities where they can truly thrive.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lovebypaloma.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paloma_therapy/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palomatherapyy
• Other: https://palomatherapy.com

Image Credits
lavidaphotographica IG
Yaquelin Hernandez

Ceci De La Hoya
cecidelahoya IG