Sarah Marx Poulain
I’m a warm, grounded, and trauma-informed therapist with over 15 years of experience supporting individuals, children, and families through life’s most meaningful and difficult transitions.
I bring over 15 years of experience, integrating evidence-based practices with a strong intuition for what each person needs in the moment.
I specialize in working with anxiety, grief, depression, identity development, parenting, and trauma, and I offer an integrative approach that draws from strength-based, experiential, narrative, and humanistic modalities. My practice is culturally responsive and rooted in respect, compassion, and deep curiosity—I strive to create a space where you feel seen, heard, and empowered to grow.
First session
Our first session is all about getting to know each other and beginning to build a connection. I’ll ask some thoughtful questions to understand what’s bringing you in, what you’re struggling with, and what you’re hoping to shift or explore. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just come as you are. I’ll also share a bit about how I work and answer any questions you have about therapy. My goal is to create a space where you feel safe, supported, and heard from the very beginning. This is your space, and we’ll move at a pace that feels right for you.
Strengths
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is my ability to create a calm, grounded, and emotionally safe space where clients feel deeply seen, heard, and validated. I bring over 15 years of experience, integrating evidence-based practices with a strong intuition for what each person needs in the moment. My approach is warm, direct, and relational—I meet clients with both compassion and curiosity, and I’m skilled at helping people uncover their strengths, shift limiting patterns, and move toward meaningful change. My deep commitment to trauma-informed and culturally responsive care allows me to hold complex stories with respect, humility, and care.
Ideal clients
My ideal clients are individuals who are ready to explore where they are, where they’ve been, and where they want to go. They may be navigating anxiety, grief, trauma, depression, relationship stress, identity shifts, or life transitions—and are seeking greater clarity, healing, or direction. I work well with people who are open to deep reflection, who want to make meaningful changes in their lives, and who are willing to engage in the emotional work that healing requires. I am especially well-suited to support women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clients, survivors of trauma, and those facing cultural or racial stress. Whether you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply seeking a deeper connection with yourself, I offer a calm, grounded space where you can feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow.
Treatment methods
Strength-Based
In my work with clients, I focus on highlighting their innate strengths, resilience, and capacity for growth. I help clients reconnect with their internal resources and past successes to build confidence and momentum toward their goals. By reframing challenges through a strength-based lens, I support them in seeing themselves as capable, empowered, and worthy of change.
Experiential Therapy
I incorporate experiential techniques to help clients move beyond intellectual processing and into deeper emotional awareness. Whether through guided visualization, body awareness, or expressive exercises, I support clients in accessing the present moment and engaging fully with their internal experience. This helps foster authenticity and lasting insight.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
I practice from a culturally sensitive lens, recognizing and honoring the complex identities, values, and lived experiences each client brings into the room. I strive to create a space where clients feel safe exploring how race, culture, family, and systemic factors impact their mental health. My work is grounded in humility, curiosity, and a commitment to ongoing learning and advocacy.
Humanistic
I approach therapy from a deeply humanistic perspective, holding the belief that my clients are inherently whole, capable, and worthy of self-directed growth. I create a warm, non-judgmental environment that encourages authenticity, self-compassion, and reflection. By prioritizing the therapeutic relationship, I help clients feel seen, heard, and valued as they navigate personal transformation.
Narrative
I work with clients to explore and rewrite the stories they carry about themselves and their lives. Together, we examine how past experiences and dominant narratives may be shaping their identity, relationships, and choices. Through this process, clients are empowered to author new, more compassionate and liberating narratives that align with their values and hopes.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 82226