Clinical Psychology · CRP 07/46432 · São Lourenço do Sul, RS, Brazil
Juliana Roloff
Behavioral science to understand what sustains distress and what supports change.
Book a session via WhatsApp01 About Me
I am a psychologist and philosopher, a Brazilian woman from Rio Grande do Sul. I earned my degree in Psychology from UFCSPA in 2026 and a teaching degree in Philosophy from PUCRS in 2020. I am currently pursuing a specialization in Clinical Behavior Analysis at IBAC.
My academic background brings together two complementary fields. In philosophy, I focused on the analytic tradition, with an emphasis on logic, epistemology, and philosophy of science. In psychology, I found in Behavior Analysis a way to understand and address human suffering without giving up critical thinking, translated into a socially responsible scientific practice. My teaching degree in Philosophy is not a departure from behavior-analytic clinical practice: teaching and clinical work share the same premise—that of creating the conditions in which new skills and ways of acting can develop.
Rather than starting from a distinction between normal and pathological, I take a functional approach to behavior: I look at how it is organized through the relationship between the person, their history, and their current life circumstances, and I intervene in those relationships to promote individual and collective well-being.
During my Psychology training, I worked in several public institutions, always under on-site supervision and faculty guidance. For two years, I worked in a psychiatric outpatient clinic within Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), at Hospital Psiquiátrico São Pedro. Guided by the Expanded Clinic approach within the field of Public Health, I worked with cases of moderate and high complexity, involving histories of severe psychosocial vulnerability, various forms of violence, and chronic psychological distress, including problematic substance use. I also took part in a research group at UFCSPA, in partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul Court of Justice (TJ-RS), which developed and evaluated an intervention protocol for men accused of violence against women. During the 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul, I volunteered at a rescue site, providing psychological first aid as part of the support team from UFCSPA’s Psychology program.
I also have training in Therapeutic Accompaniment (Instituto Singular) and additional training in Process-Based Therapy (Diade Lab). I currently see clients in private practice, offering in-person and online psychotherapy in Portuguese and English. I hold an English proficiency certificate (TOEFL iBT).
02 Services
Individual psychotherapy for adults and adolescents aged 13 and over, available in person or online, in Portuguese and English.
Before You Begin
- Adolescents: Consent from a parent or legal guardian is required. The first session is held with them only, to discuss the service and clarify what information may be shared with the family. Individual sessions begin after that meeting.
- Online sessions: Please have a private space where you can speak freely without being overheard or interrupted.
- Reimbursement: I am not affiliated with health insurance plans, but I provide receipts for paid sessions so you can request reimbursement from your insurer. Coverage for psychotherapy sessions is a right provided for under Brazilian Law No. 9,656/98.
The length of therapy varies according to your needs. Because change is not linear, ending therapy is assessed collaboratively, in light of the therapeutic goals established at the outset.
To get started, contact me via WhatsApp or fill out the contact form.
03 My Approach
People who seek therapy have often already tried to solve their problem on their own: changing habits, doing research, and promising themselves that things would be different. It works for a while, but the distress returns, and the question remains: why do I do this, even though I know it harms me?
The most common explanations point inward, such as a lack of willpower, a chemical imbalance, or a certain personality type. Behavior Analysis, the approach that guides my work, offers another perspective: what you do is shaped by the relationship between you and your environment. You repeat certain behaviors because, in certain situations, they have produced certain effects, and you avoid others because of the weight of their consequences.
What we call a person’s “way of being” is, to a large extent, a set of learned patterns repeated often enough to seem natural. This does not dismiss your emotions; rather, it means no longer treating them as causes. If you say you shouted because you were angry, anger does not explain the shouting. Feeling angry and shouting happen together; it is this closeness that makes it seem as though one caused the other, when both are responses to the same conditions.
Even what seems irrational serves a function, and discovering that function opens a path to change. You know your own story; I bring the professional training to identify patterns that may go unnoticed when you are deeply immersed in what you are experiencing. We build goals together and reassess them as the process moves forward.
None of this means taking suffering lightly. Regardless of its origin—innate, learned, or a combination of both—suffering is real, painful, and deserves serious care. Some situations may require support from multiple professionals. Identifying what kind of care is needed is part of the work.
I cannot promise that you will leave every session feeling better, because talking about what hurts can be uncomfortable. It is true that what you share changes the course of therapy. It is equally true that it will not be turned into a verdict about you or into moralizing advice. This is not a matter of kindness; it is a clinical requirement: no one keeps talking about what hurts if the listener’s response makes the pain worse.
My responses are not neutral, just like anyone else’s. Part of my work is to examine them in supervision and adjust how I address the effects they have on you.
The ultimate goal is for you to learn how to analyze and manage the factors that maintain your distress, so you can address them autonomously in different areas of your life in ways that support both your well-being and the well-being of the environment in which you live. The two are inseparable.
04 The Process
What to Expect When You Get in Touch
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01
Initial Contact and Scheduling
We discuss scheduling, fees, and the session format (in person or online). We then schedule the first session.
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02
First Session and Beginning the Work
In these first meetings, we will focus on your life history and map out your goals, resources, and difficulties. We will also agree on how therapy will work: what you can expect from me, what I expect from you, and how we will handle unexpected situations.
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03
What Maintains Your Distress
We explore the conditions in which your distress arises: what happens beforehand, what you do, feel, and need, and what all of this produces in your life. The aim is to understand the relationships that sustain it today, without searching for a single cause or something hidden inside you.
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04
Putting Strategies into Practice
Once we have defined your goals, we develop strategies and put them into action. The work is not limited to the therapy room; it also extends to what you try and apply in your everyday life.
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05
Review and Adjustment
Psychotherapy is an evolving process, not a one-size-fits-all recipe. We regularly review whether our work is effective. If it is, we consolidate the changes until you can continue without therapy. If it is not, we adjust course.
About Our Therapeutic Relationship
Trust is not a prerequisite for starting therapy; it develops throughout the process. If something I do or say makes you uncomfortable at any point, you can—and should—bring it up in a session. This is not a problem; it is part of the work.
05 Contact
Let’s Talk
Fill out the form to ask a question or schedule a session. You can also contact me directly via WhatsApp.
06 Location
Where I Practice
In-person sessions are available in São Lourenço do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. I also offer online sessions throughout Brazil, in accordance with the guidelines of Brazil’s Federal Council of Psychology.
The full office address will be provided after your appointment is scheduled.
07 Recommendations
Books, Videos, and Articles
Resources to help you understand the therapeutic process and behavioral science. This is not a list of generic tips, but material for those who want to think about behavior more rigorously.