(she/her)
New to Grow
Hi, I’m Sara, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and seasoned therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience, including service as a U.S. Navy Mental Health Officer. I work with adults and older adolescents navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, relationship challenges, identity concerns, and major life transitions. I also have specialized experience supporting military members, veterans, high-performing professionals, individuals from high-conflict family systems, and those healing from religious trauma, coercive control, or high-control environments. My approach is warm, collaborative, trauma-informed, and tailored to the unique needs of each client. I integrate evidence-based therapies including CBT, ACT, CPT, attachment-based work, and parts-focused approaches to help clients better understand themselves, heal from painful experiences, and create meaningful, lasting change. Whether you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected, or simply ready for something different, therapy can become a space to build insight, strengthen resilience, reconnect with your values, and move toward a life that feels more authentic, empowered, and aligned with who you truly are.
Starting therapy can feel both hopeful and vulnerable, and it’s completely okay if you’re feeling nervous, unsure, or not quite sure where to begin. In our first session, we’ll spend time exploring what brought you to therapy, what’s weighing on you, and what you’d like to be different in your life or relationships. I’ll ask questions to better understand your experiences, strengths, history, and goals, while creating a space that feels supportive, collaborative, and free of judgment. By the end of our session, my hope is that you feel heard, understood, and have a clearer sense of how we might work together moving forward.
What sets my approach apart is the combination of extensive clinical experience, trauma-informed care, and a deeply collaborative, human-centered style. With over 15 years of experience — including service as a U.S. Navy Mental Health Officer — I bring a unique understanding of trauma, high-stress environments, identity transitions, complex family dynamics, and the ways life experiences shape emotional well-being. I integrate evidence-based therapies with a flexible, individualized approach, recognizing that therapy is not “one size fits all.” My goal is to create a space where clients feel genuinely understood, appropriately challenged, and supported in making meaningful, lasting changes that align with their values and authentic sense of self.
I work with adults and older teens facing challenges related to trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and identity development. My background includes extensive work with military populations, veterans, high-performing professionals, and individuals navigating complex family systems, trauma recovery, and major life changes. I also have a special focus on religious trauma, deconstruction, coercive control, and healing after high-control environments. I strive to create a supportive, nonjudgmental space where clients can process difficult experiences, reconnect with themselves, and move toward greater clarity, healing, and self-trust.
Other specialties
I identify as
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients relate differently to difficult thoughts, emotions, and internal experiences. Instead of fighting, suppressing, or being controlled by painful feelings, ACT teaches skills for making room for discomfort while staying connected to personal values, identity, and purpose. In our work together, we may explore mindfulness, self-compassion, cognitive “unhooking” from limiting beliefs, and practical steps toward becoming more aligned with the life you want to build.
Attachment-based
My work is informed by attachment-based theory, which examines how early relationships and significant relational experiences influence emotional patterns, coping strategies, and ways of connecting with others. Therapy provides a space to explore attachment wounds, relational dynamics, and internalized beliefs while cultivating greater self-awareness, emotional security, and healthier ways of relating. The goal is not only insight, but developing more secure, authentic, and connected relationships — both with others and with yourself.
Jungian
My work draws in part from Jungian theory, which focuses on understanding unconscious patterns, identity development, meaning-making, and the journey toward becoming more fully oneself. Therapy may explore recurring relational themes, inner conflicts, symbolism, personal narratives, or disowned parts of the self that influence present-day experiences. This approach supports deeper self-awareness, integration, and living with greater authenticity, purpose, and alignment.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
that painful experiences can leave behind. Trauma can deeply influence how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and our sense of safety in the world. Together, we identify and work through “stuck points” — patterns of thinking rooted in fear, shame, guilt, self-blame, or loss of trust — while building more compassionate, flexible, and empowering ways of making meaning from what you’ve been through. The aim is not simply reducing symptoms, but helping you reconnect with your strength, agency, and capacity to move forward.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I incorporate Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help clients understand and compassionately work with the different “parts” of themselves that may carry pain, protection, fear, criticism, or unmet needs. Rather than viewing these internal experiences as problems to eliminate, IFS helps us explore how they may have developed to help you survive, adapt, or stay safe. Together, we work toward greater self-awareness, healing, and internal balance by fostering a deeper connection to your core self — the grounded, wise, and compassionate part of you capable of leading with clarity, authenticity, and self-trust.