Sara is a compassionate, engaging, and skilled clinician that has over a decade of experience working with children, youth, and families. She has worked in school settings and various community agencies, including Windsor Regional Children's Centre and Maryvale. Sara received her Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Windsor, and is registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
Sara has helped clients with an array of concerns including anxiety, school avoidance, OCD, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, anger, identity struggles, social/peer relationship stressors, parent-child conflict, and trauma. She is trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches and modalities, including Motivational Interviewing, Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Sara also has substantial experience in crisis intervention and suicide prevention/life promotion.
Through her work experience, Sara has provided caregiver support and coaching to allow parents to best support their child, to increase their confidence in responding effectively to their child’s needs, and to more consistently be the parent they want to be.
Being a teen, and parenting one is hard. Sara takes a trauma-informed, strengths-based, child-centred, and family systems approach to her practice to allow for most effective outcomes. She meets youth and families where they are at, and recognizes the value in simply feeling heard/validated. Sara supports youth in identifying and building on what they are already doing that is good for them. She helps youth focus on what is in their control and build their awareness about what may be keeping them stuck. Sara supports youth in learning/practicing healthier ways of getting their needs met, reducing their suffering, and intentionally creating a life worth living.