THERAPY FOR WOMEN & TWEEN GIRLS
In person in Chico, California and virtually throughout California
My own childhood and teen years were deeply affected by trauma and difficult experiences. During those years, I experienced my own share of pain, struggle, and feeling like something was wrong with me.
Then, in college, I met a therapist who became a bright spot during some of my darkest days.
She was down-to-earth, a great listener, and highly engaged.
She didn't feel distant or clinical.
She had pictures of her kids on the walls and a mug of coffee in her hand. She was warm, real, and human.
And she changed my life.
I remember thinking:
“I want to become like her. I want to be able to change someone's life the way she changed mine.”
I wanted to be real.
A LITTLE ABOUT SARAH
That experience shaped me as a human and later as a therapist.
I work to create a space where you don't feel like you're sitting across from a cold expert evaluating everything you say.
I'm the therapist who can sit with you in the hard places. I’m not afraid of your tears, your anger, or your grief, and I don't need you to hurry up and feel better.
I'm the kind of therapist who can help you understand why you've learned to cope the way you do while also helping you see that there is nothing wrong with you.
And just like my therapist did for me, I want to help you believe that your life can become something different than it feels like right now.
I want to help you create a life where there's peace instead of worry. Freedom instead of shame. And, joy instead of heartache.
Experienced. Compassionate. Human.
I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 15 years of experience as a therapist and 10 years in private practice.
My work integrates EMDR, mindfulness, and a somatic focus, and my approach is grounded in unconditional positive regard.
I've completed basic EMDR training and am completing advanced training and supervision to become EMDR certified through EMDRIA.
With me, you can come as you are.
No perfect words required. No polished version of your story. No pretending you're doing better than you are.
I want my office to feel comfortable and real. No makeup and real pants required.
Comfortable is queen around here.
I don't want you to show up as the perfectly put-together version of yourself. In fact, I'd much rather meet the real you.
You can cry. Tears are healing.
You can be angry. You don't have to sugarcoat your feelings.
You can feel confused. I'm here for the messy middle.
You can tell me something you're embarrassed about. There's no judgment here.
You can say something that doesn't make sense yet. It's safe to share.
What it's like to work with Sarah
You don't have to worry about being too much for me.
I'll listen without judgment, ask questions when I want to understand something more deeply, and help you make sense of the patterns you've developed and the experiences that shaped them.
And I won't leave you alone to figure everything out.
I'll be your guide into healing and peace.
I'll bring my clinical experience and training to our work together, while also paying attention to what you need. Sometimes that means exploring the experiences that shaped you. Sometimes it means learning ways to cope with what's happening right now. And when trauma is at the root of what you're experiencing, EMDR may become part of our work.
We'll figure it out together.
What does Sarah believe about healing?
I don't believe you're broken.
Your patterns make sense when we look at the bigger picture and understand where they came from.
I believe you learned to cope with your experiences in the best ways you knew how—and that those strategies may have helped you survive something you weren't equipped to handle at the time.
But what helped you survive then may not be helping you live the life you want now.
That's where therapy can help.
We can gently explore the experiences that shaped you, understand the ways you've learned to relate to yourself and other people, and begin creating something different.
Sometimes that means insight. Sometimes it means learning new ways to care for yourself. Sometimes it means going deeper with EMDR and processing experiences that still have a hold on you.
You might be thinking, what makes Sarah different from other therapists?
I think what makes me different is the way I see you.
I don't see you as a problem that needs to be fixed or a list of symptoms that needs to be managed. I see the whole person.
I understand that the patterns you're struggling with didn't come out of nowhere. If you're still carrying something after years of trying to change it, I don't assume you're not trying hard enough. I get curious about what's underneath it.
I'm also not afraid of the hard stuff.
I can sit with you in the grief, the anger, the confusion, and the pain without needing you to hurry up and feel better. You don't have to make your pain smaller for me.
At the same time, I won't leave you sitting in the pain forever. I'll be your guide. We'll work together to understand what's happening, develop healthier ways of coping, and, when appropriate, go deeper with EMDR.
Most importantly, I want you to experience what I believe every person deserves in therapy:
To be fully seen, accepted, and cared for without having to earn it.
That's the kind of therapist I needed when I was younger, and it's the kind of therapist I strive to be for my clients.