Sarah completed her master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Saint Cloud State University. She is seeking licensure as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor through the MN Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy. Sarah has worked as a therapist for the past seven years, providing individual, family, and group therapy in both community-based and outpatient settings for young children (infants through school-aged) and their families. In 2017, she was one of the first therapists to work with clients in the Intensive Treatment in Foster Care (ITFC) program here in Minnesota. For the past five years, she has continued that work with foster/adoptive children and their families in the ITFC program.
Sarah puts emphasis on strengthening the caregiver-child relationship and helping her clients/families navigate and overcome trauma. She feels her role is to compassionately support families as they build upon the strengths in their relationships, ease distress, and explore new ways to deal with emotional and behavioral concerns. Sarah’s approach is gentle and informative while offering a safe, warm, and encouraging relationship. She is continually amazed by the growth that can occur when children are given the space to share and process their stories. Sarah believes that establishing a strong alliance with her clients and families is essential to achieving the most out of therapy and creating lasting change.
Although Sarah works with clients on a variety of issues, her more specific areas of interest are early childhood mental health, adoption/foster care, attachment issues and concerns, caregiver-child relationships, parenting, child development, brain development, behavioral concerns/anger management, abuse/neglect, trauma, coping skills, regulation, and school issues.
Sarah is trained in the following evidence-based interventions, functional assessments, and outcome measures; DC:0-5 – Diagnostic Assessments for children birth – 5 years of age, Early Childhood Service Intensity Instrument (ECSII), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), The UCLA Child/Adolescent/Caregiver PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). She is currently seeking certification in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). She utilizes a play therapy and narrative approach in her clinical work.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with family and friends. She enjoys spending time up north at the cabin in summer months and ice fishing in the winter. She enjoys reading, gardening, and cooking/baking. She also enjoys being creative through different forms of art, crafts, and DIY projects around her home.
