Do Any of These Describe You?

In the busyness of work, family, responsibilities, etc., it's hard to find ME anymore.

Pain, abuse or trauma I've experienced in my faith community has left me feeling lost and confused.

My partner and I have lost (connection, intimacy, interest) with each other.

I've been hurt or let

down by my church or

faith community.

My partner and I just can't communicate.

I feel like I've

lost myself.

If any of these do describe you, then I am so happy that you've landed on my page, because I truly believe that you’re in the right place and that I can help!

Do you remember the classic playground merry-go-rounds? (Shout out to my fellow GenX peeps if this was a recess staple!) They were so intense. I did a quick google search for them and one of the first pictures to come up was captioned “Death-Defying Merry-Go-Rounds”. They were fun, fast, chaotic, and thrilling. And the ride wasn’t over once it stopped! When you got off you were dizzy, unbalanced, nauseous and disoriented. Well, if that isn’t an f-ing metaphor for life! Here’s the thing: it just FELT like you lost your bearings. You couldn't find the horizon, the ground beneath you felt unsure and it was hard to trust your own blurry vision. The reality was that the horizon was still there, the ground beneath you was still firm and what you were seeing was still solid, you just needed to slow down, recenter yourself, and find your own equilibrium again. Turns out, that's also a metaphor for therapy!

Hi, I'm Sara Smith
I'm So Glad You're Here!

I listen to stories of women like you every week: Strong women, powerful women, capable women, intelligent women, compassionate women, AND…women whose life experiences have caused them to lose their bearings.

Women who say things like:

“I’m so busy with my kids, partner, job, family, friends, and chores. I feel like I’ve lost myself.”

“I can’t communicate with my spouse, my marriage is struggling, my partner and I feel like roommates. I feel like we’ve lost each other.”

“I’ve been hurt by the church, confused by religious leaders, and troubled by beliefs that just don’t seem like they fit anymore. I feel like I’ve lost my faith.”

Death-Defying Merry-Go-Round

What's The Deal With The

Let me share my vision with you!

I love my glasses! They are fun, help me express myself and help my clients appear like something other than a fuzzy blob on my screen! When it comes time to read, work at my computer or use my phone, I am very grateful for my glasses. But nothing has really changed with my eyes. If I take my glasses off, lose them or forget to bring them with me somewhere, I’m still going to struggle to see clearly. I have a tool, but not real change.

Now, if I had a Lasik procedure or some other corrective eye surgery, I would be actually changing or transforming the shape of my eye so that I could see better permanently without my glasses. My vision would be transformed even without the use of my glasses.

My practice is the Lasik of therapy. I don’t offer a tool or a strategy to help you feel better only when you're using the tool. I work with my clients to bring forth actual transformational change that helps you find what you thought was lost and reconnect with yourself and others again..

CONTACT SARA

Sara Smith with glasses and a silly face

I'l l take the transformational change without all the mess and expense of surgery, please!

I get it! Transformation sounds hard!
So, let’s take a look at what this actually involves.
In my experience, there are four key elements that, when combined, can lead to transformational change through therapy:
The process, the content, the therapist, and…..the last one is a surprise!

THE PROCESS

I believe that HOW we do therapy is as important as what we do DURING therapy. 50 minute sessions are NOT the standard because they are best practice. 50 minute sessions are the standard because that is all most insurance companies are willing to pay for. As a person actually trained to provide the therapy and not just pay for it, I can tell you that oftentimes the best, most transformative work begins at about the 40 minute mark (wah, wah, wah!).

This is why I am totally committed to doing longer therapy sessions and therapy intensives. Therapy Intensives are multiple, longer therapy sessions done in a concentrated span of time that help people achieve deeper, more transformative results in less time. The slowing down and recentering of ourselves that helps us find our bearings takes time. Therapy Intensives provide that time. Listen to this brief video to hear me give a description of intensives.

THE CONTENT

Once you have space to actually do some deeper work, having a good way to bring forth that transformation is key. I have been trained in many different modalities of doing therapy, but nothing has resonated deep in my core the way Internal Family Systems (IFS) has. For a “non-therapisty” explanation of IFS, watch this short video:

THE THERAPIST

That’s me! Here is a little about my background as a therapist. I have been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for almost a decade. I have worked in home-based, office and now virtual environments and worked for agencies, group practices and now private practice. I have a background in Discernment Counseling, EMDR, Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), and my favorite, Internal Family Systems (IFS). I am an LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist and I love helping my clients work through the messiness of life and relationships. To hear a little bit about what its like to work with me, watch this:

AND (DRUMROLLLL) YOU!

You, showing up as just you. You, bringing all your strengths and skills and insights and wisdom, as well as all your struggles and weaknesses and fears and vulnerabilities. When you are willing to be vulnerable and enter into deeper work, you bring the final element that can bring about that lasting change.

I find so much fulfillment in working with women who feel like they've lost themselves, women who have been hurt by the church, and women who have become disconnected from their partners. What I have found is that with enough time and space, a process to help clients understand their inner world, a therapist who is compassionate and attuned to their clients and a client willing to be vulnerable, transformation can happen! I can provide the first three, the last one is up to you! (Glasses not required)

If you have more questions or want to join me by adding that fourth element, click here.