Therapist for Adults in the Bay Area
About Sara
I believe that the therapy relationship is the foundation for healing…
In many ways, I trace the origin of becoming a therapist back to my beginning. I was born in Oakland and grew up in San Francisco and the East Bay, one of the most naturally beautiful and progressive areas in the world. Although my childhood was filled with warmth and community, facets of my core identity felt like liabilities and familial chaos often emphasized emotional survival rather than safety. For most of my childhood I felt othered from my peers, afraid and alone.
When I began to confront the toll that chronic emotional numbness took on my health and relationships, I discovered that early experiences had kept me trapped in a vicious cycle of anxiety and disconnection. I also realized that living in a lifelong state of internal and external chaos had left me with a fragmented sense of self; constantly shape-shifting to meet an intense need to just feel safe, never truly grounded.
…and talking to a therapist forged by experience can make all the difference.
The more I learned about and worked through the emotional and biological forces underneath my behavior, the more relief, clarity and peace entered my life - in some cases for the first time in my life. I came to recognize and admire the bravery and vulnerability it takes to face your demons and enter into therapy firsthand, and decided to dedicate my life to walking alongside others on their path to recovery of all forms.
While I haven’t lived your exact story, we may have traveled through similar fire. Clients often tell me that having a therapist who has journeyed from suffering to healing lends a special kind of acceptance and acknowledgement to the therapy experience. I believe it allows me to meet you with deep empathy along with professional integrity that can be felt - sometimes without you having to explain a thing.
With me, therapy is a space where you don’t have to perform or hide. You can show up exactly as you are and from there, true healing and transformation can begin.
No regrets approach - you’re here now and that’s what matters!
The relentless pace of everyday life has a way of burying what we can’t or won’t face and that is not your fault. Maybe you've been meaning to start therapy but it just keeps getting back-burnered on your to-do list - you're not alone! And…it's time to recognize that there might be more under the surface that is keeping you from "going there".
My approach anticipates reluctance - I intentionally encourage bravery and facing what feels unfaceable in a gentle yet empowering way. Transformation is by nature uncomfortable but my approach is anchored in the core truth that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Imagine making friends with it instead of being controlled by it!
Issues I Specialize In:
Childhood trauma
Complex/attachment trauma
PTSD
Addiction and substance misuse
Life transitions and identity work (death, birth, job change, aging, diagnosis & recovery from disease, breakups and divorce, marriage, increase/decrease in salary)
The unique challenges of women and femmes in all areas of life
Celebrating and supporting single and/or child free lives
Addressing cumulative psychological harm from microaggressions
Racial/gender/socioeconomic marginalization
High intensity and stressful work environments
Family issues and dynamics
Intergenerational maladaptive coping
Education & Licensure:
LCSW # 128986, licensed to practice throughout the state of California
Master of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley
Advanced Trainings & Certifications
Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Training - Part 1 & Part 2
EMDR - Adult & Child Phase 1 & 2
Certified Brainspotting Therapist: Specialty training in Expansion Spotting, Trauma Intensives
Certified Peer Specialist (Mental Health Association of San Francisco)
Certified Crisis and Suicide Prevention Counselor (Crisis Support Services of Alameda County)
Why Do Trauma Therapy
…from someone who’s “been there”
“Trauma decontextualized in a person looks like personality.
Trauma decontextualized in a family looks like family traits.
Trauma decontextualized in people looks like culture.”
- Resmaa Menakem
Most clients benefit from trauma-oriented therapy regardless of their reasons for coming to therapy because both mental health issues (like but not limited to anxiety and depression) and coping behaviors (like but not limited to addiction) are often symptoms of the cumulative effects of unprocessed trauma - not simply isolated issues to be treated separately and only by engaging the mind.
Two main indicators that unprocessed trauma is potentially part of your story are minimization and avoidance.
Minimization can manifest as thoughts like “it wasn't that bad…everyone experiences bullying or pain or humiliation at some point…other people had it worse…it was so long ago it doesn’t matter anymore…I made my peace with it so I don't have to talk about it”.
Avoidance of revisiting the past can look like literally not talking about it, but also avoiding it emotionally - maybe you can talk about a traumatic past but you sound like you’re recalling what you ate for dinner last night. If this sounds familiar, you may still be disconnecting from the emotional toll trauma has taken.
Sound familiar? Trauma treatment may be right for you!
Not all stress is caused by trauma, and not all trauma causes stress.
Having a seasoned clinician who can differentiate between cumulative stress, acute stress and stress caused by more deeply rooted complex or episodic trauma is crucial for comprehensive healing.
Cumulative stress may be the result of a lifetime of enduring microaggressions, feeling like the "failure" of the family, or working at a high stress job.
Acute stress may occur during a major life event or transition, including ones we are conditioned to anticipate with joy such as marriage or the birth of a child.
Traumatic stress often results in our whole selves becoming “stuck” after a difficult, horrific, shocking, unusual or violating experience (or experiences).
When thinking about trauma therapy versus talk therapy, it can helpful to frame it in this way: when you visit your primary care provider, they use a different approach than if you were preparing for surgery; the goal is the same (to heal), but the intensity, preparation, and focus of the provider shifts, and for good reason.
The urgency or severity of your symptoms determine which path of treatment makes the most sense, not a one-size-fits-most approach.
