Thomas Jefferson University Marriage and Family Therapy Intern

Therapy for Shame, Trauma, & Identity in Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia & Online

pascale cristofalo (she/they)

Thomas Jefferson University Marriage and Family Therapy Intern

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Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia & Online Therapy

All About pascale

pascale cristofalo is a Thomas Jefferson University Marriage and Family Therapy Intern who brings a warm, attentive, and deeply grounded presence to her work. She is committed to helping individuals navigate shame, trauma, and the painful relational patterns that can leave people feeling misunderstood or unworthy of love. As a transgender therapist, pascale brings lived experience with identity-based dissonance and creates affirming space for the complexities and challenges inherent in occupying a marginalized identity.

Her work is rooted in acceptance—how can we find peace in defining, and existing for ourselves? How do we feel empowered in a world that tries to take power away from us? In addition to their work around gender identity, pascale also draws on lived experience in sobriety and restorative justice, supporting clients as they navigate accountability, repair, and meaningful change. Across all of their work, pascale offers a space where clients can feel fully seen in their complexity.

Her therapeutic approach is rooted in authenticity, curiosity, and emotional depth. pascale integrates parts work, psychodynamic therapy, narrative work, and somatic awareness to help clients understand the parts of themselves that have carried hurt, protection, or fear. She believes that healing begins when we learn to meet these parts with clarity and grace, allowing us to reclaim agency, rebuild boundaries, and cultivate a more stable inner world.

pascale is especially drawn to supporting LGBTQIA+ clients, people navigating polyamory, individuals who have experienced harm within important relationships, and those who have caused harm and want to move toward accountability. She helps clients uncover the emotional truths beneath their patterns, reconnect with their inner wisdom, and build relationships that feel honest and life-affirming. For anyone who has felt unlovable, overwhelmed, or disconnected from themselves, pascale offers a steady therapeutic partnership that invites wholeness, courage, and self-determination.

Who She Works With

✔️ Individuals carrying shame, struggling with identity wounds, feeling unlovable, or wanting to better understand the patterns that have caused harm
✔️ Clients healing from trauma caused by caregivers, partners, or close relationships
✔️ LGBTQIA+ individuals, with particular resonance for transgender clients seeking deeply affirming care
✔️ People exploring or practicing polyamory and nontraditional relationship structures

pascale offers a warm, emotionally attuned space where clients can untangle the stories they carry, understand the patterns that once protected them, and move toward relationships that feel honest, rooted, and self-determined.

  • pascale believes healing grows from accountability, grace, and a deepening relationship with the self. She brings authentic curiosity to each session, inviting clients to explore the parts of themselves that feel painful, overwhelming, or unwanted. Therapy with pascale is collaborative and grounding, shaped by both clinical training and lived experience. She integrates several approaches, including:

    • Parts Work – Helps clients understand and care for the inner parts that hold hurt, protection, or shame, fostering a sense of inner clarity and wholeness.

    • Psychodynamic Therapy – Supports deeper insight into how early relationships and emotional wounds influence present-day patterns.

    • Narrative Therapy – Explores the stories clients have inherited or constructed, creating room for new meaning, identity, and agency.

    • Somatic Awareness – Reconnects clients with the body as a source of information, helping them hold big emotions with steadiness and care.

    Across all modalities, pascale works with clients to build boundaries, strengthen self-esteem, and reclaim the parts of themselves that have long been misunderstood or silenced. She meets clients with warmth and honesty, guiding them toward self-determination, emotional resilience, and a more integrated sense of self.

Specialties

  • Trauma & Relational Wounds

    Therapy provides a grounded space to explore the impact of harm experienced in families, partnerships, or communities. The work focuses on understanding long-held patterns, reclaiming boundaries, and developing a clearer sense of agency.

    Trauma Therapy

  • Polyamory & Nontraditional Relationships

    Therapy welcomes those exploring or practicing polyamory, offering guidance around communication, boundaries, jealousy, family-of-origin patterns, and the emotional landscape of nontraditional relational systems.

    Couples Therapy

  • Somatic & Parts Work Integration

    A blend of somatic awareness and Internal Family Systems helps clients reconnect with the body, understand their inner parts, and hold overwhelming emotions with more steadiness, clarity, and compassion.

    Somatic Therapy

  • LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy

    Clients across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum can expect deeply affirming, identity-conscious support. Sessions honor the complexity of navigating identity, belonging, and cultural or familial dissonance, with an emphasis on nuance and dignity.

    LGBTQIA+ Therapy

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