Hello, Oi, Hola!

Jaqueline Oliveira Baroni – MA, LMHC, LPC, CSAC

My journey in psychology began in 2011, when I started my bachelor’s degree in Brazil. Five years of studying, working hard, and learning about human behavior confirmed that psychology was where I wanted to be. After graduating, I initially pursued my dream of becoming a psychiatrist. When I didn’t pass the federal exam in Brazil, I found myself facing a different path than the one I had imagined. Instead of seeing it as the end of my journey, I decided to keep going. I specialized in Mental Health, and somewhere along the way, I discovered that psychology was exactly where I was meant to be. Soon after, life took me somewhere completely unexpected: the United States. Immigrating meant starting over in many ways. I had to adapt to a new culture, strengthen my English, navigate unfamiliar systems, and at times step away from the field I loved. There were moments when the path forward was not clear. But I kept finding my way back to psychology. I eventually pursued my Master’s degree in Psychology while continuing to build my professional experience through internships, residency, extensive training, and preparation for national examinations. This year, I completed my fellowship in psychoanalysis, and today I have the privilege of working with clients in both private and public settings. My own journey has shaped the way I see therapy. I know what it feels like to start over, to question what comes next, to adapt to a new environment, and to discover that life doesn’t always unfold according to the plan we imagined.