Pam Bolarinho , LICSW

Pam Bolarinho, LICSW, is a seasoned social work leader and clinician who brings more than twenty years of experience in clinical practice and program development. She currently serves full time as Vice President of Acute Care Services, and her background includes roles as ESP Director, Clinical Director for an inpatient psychiatric facility, and Social Work Manager at an acute medical hospital for over seven years. She began her career in direct practice with the Healthy Families Program and as a social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families before earning a Master of Social Work from Bridgewater State University, where she was the class representative for her MSW cohort.

Pam is a Portuguese American who immigrated to the United States at age five and has devoted her career to supporting vulnerable individuals and communities. She has collaborated with community partners such as the Suicide Prevention Coalition, Help & Hope Southcoast, labor and human trafficking initiatives, and opioid response efforts. She helped establish a co-response program with a local police department nearly three years ago that has brought care to over 400 people in the community and kept more than 65 percent of those individuals at home rather than in emergency rooms. She has also worked with the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership and Beacon Health Options to expand alternatives to emergency care.

As a clinician she identifies as patient-centered and strength-based, and she has worked with people affected by trauma, end-of-life concerns, foster care and adoption, reactive attachment disorder, elder needs, addiction, and ongoing chronic mental health conditions. Her LICSW credential denotes that she is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with advanced clinical training and independent practice authority.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care Options

Pam Bolarinho draws on several practical approaches to support clients in online settings, including client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing. Client-centered therapy focuses on building a collaborative, empathetic relationship in which the person s experiences and goals guide the work; it is helpful for improving self-understanding, resilience, and coping with life transitions. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured method that helps people identify and shift unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, often used for anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns. Motivational interviewing is a collaborative, goal-oriented style of conversation that helps people explore and strengthen their own motivation for change, which can be especially useful for addictions, ambivalence about treatment, or behavior change.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Pam works collaboratively with each person to assess needs, preferences, and goals and to adjust methods as therapy unfolds, so the approach fits the individual rather than expecting the person to fit a single model. Licensed professionals and therapists often combine elements from different methods to tailor care.

Online therapy with Pam can take place via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for scheduling, location, and communication style. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, access care from home, and maintain continuity of support when in-person visits are not possible.