About Sara
My Orientation and Approach
Psychotherapy and what works for you are highly personal: they require a match in chemistry and personality. Many people get swept up in thinking they need a specific type of therapy. Yet the evidence consistently shows that positive outcomes in treatment ultimately depend on the quality of your relationship with your therapist. Quality psychotherapy requires a safe environment, non-judgment, acceptance, deep curiosity, and support. You need a therapist who truly gets you and is willing to examine all sides and facets that make you who you are. You deserve nothing less.
My style is warm, deeply curious, and sometimes direct and playful. I am focused on getting to know your inner world and the dynamics of your life and relationships that either support or inhibit growth. With precise, compassionate, and attuned listening, I can help you understand your core needs, longings, and fears that get in the way. Together, we can uncover beliefs and patterns that aren't serving you and reorient into a space of alignment so you can get on with living the life you’re meant to live.
Recognizing that every individual is unique, I integrate various therapeutic modalities tailored to each client. My approach is relational/psychodynamic and analytic, drawing from cognitive, narrative, and humanistic perspectives, all viewed through multicultural and trauma-informed lenses. I also utilize parts work, mindfulness, and somatic practices. I am trained in harm-reduction and psychedelic-assisted therapy and can support psychedelic preparation and integration sessions.
My Path To Becoming A Therapist
Looking back, I think I’ve always been a therapist in some way, even before I ever imagined it as a career. As a child, I was deeply curious about people — their stories, their inner worlds, their quiet complexities. I loved exploring the mysteries of both nature and human behavior, and I’ve always been attuned to the subtle energies that exist between people — the things we feel but can’t always see. It’s taken time, and a lot of learning, to understand and trust my intuitive ways of knowing.
I was born and raised in New Jersey and completed my undergraduate degree in Washington, D.C. My early career began in public relations at Time Inc. in New York City. During that time, I experienced my share of struggles, losses, and moments of confusion. Life has a way of shifting our paths in ways we don’t always expect or welcome. When I wasn’t sure how to trust myself, I turned toward what my family had always valued most: service.
That led me to join the Peace Corps, where I was placed in Azerbaijan — a country I had never even heard of before applying. Those two years changed me in ways I’m still discovering. Living and working in a completely different culture stretched my understanding of myself and the world. It taught me humility, deep listening, and the beauty of seeing beyond my own perspective. That experience continues to shape how I approach therapy and life — with curiosity, compassion, and respect for each person’s unique experience.
Over a decade ago, I followed another call to move to California. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what was drawing me west, but now I recognize it as my intuition — that same inner voice that’s guided me all along. I’ve grown to love the openness, diversity, and expansiveness that make this part of the country so special. We don’t always get things right, but there’s an ongoing effort to grow, to repair, to understand. To me, that’s the essence of what it means to be human — and of the therapy process.
Training and Education
Today, I’m a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor at a humanistic-oriented nonprofit clinic that supports addiction medicine and mental health treatment. Our work is rooted in harm reduction, social justice, challenging stigma, and empowering clients to take ownership of their choices and their healing.
During and after graduate school, I worked with adolescents and transitional-age youth in school settings — experiences that helped me appreciate and understand how challenging it is to grow up in today’s world.
I hold a Marriage and Family Therapy License in California and have been seeing clients since 2015. I earned my Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from San Francisco State University and my Bachelor of Arts in Communication from American University in Washington, D.C.
While licensure requires years of education, supervised hours, and exams, I believe my deepest learning has come from my own self-work and personal analysis. I see therapy as a lifelong practice — one that continually asks me to grow, to examine, and to show up with authenticity.
I remain dedicated to ongoing training and professional development to deepen my understanding and expand my ability to serve my clients.
Recent post-graduate training and certificates:
Buddhist Psychology Training - 2025 - Spirit Rock Center, Marin, California
Jungian Oriented Psychotherapy - 2024 - C.G. Jung Institute - San Francisco, California
Gottman Method Couples Therapy - Level 1 - 2024 - The Gottman Institute
Certification of Ketamine-Assisted-Psychotherapy - 2023 - Alchemy Community Therapy, Oakland, California