Testimonials
Testimonials
Reflections from those who have experienced significant positive changes in their lives.
"I love the fact that Sara’s approach is so intuitive and organic. She doesn’t try to impose a formula or structure for what should happen in any given session. Instead, she provides a warm, caring, and completely accepting environment for whatever I want to talk about or work on. With Sara, I have done some very intense healing work, but the pace and the depth of the work is completely up to me. Sara never pushes; she provides gentle support for whatever I am ready to do, and she uses her incredible intuitive ability to help guide me when I’m not sure what to do.
Sara Therrien’s approach is unlike many therapists who use a core base of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). In the course of healing from my PTSD, I have worked with other therapists that use CBT, and to me, CBT feels like another way of me being told “You’re doing it wrong” (which, to me, equates to “You are wrong”) and that I need to do, think, and believe a different way in order to be okay.
Instead of telling me what I'm "doing wrong," Sara helps me create acceptance and understanding of my PTSD and of the different ways that it affects different parts of me. This work has been transformative. It’s amazing and effective to be able to really notice what I’m feeling, accept it, provide empathy to myself instead of “shoulding” all over myself. Sara’s way of providing help creates peace in the battle zone of my brain. I’m finally living my life instead of surviving it.
Working with Sara has changed my life. I highly recommend her for anyone struggling with any kind of emotional distress, in a confused place in their life or relationships, or even someone just seeking to understand more about themselves."
-Ivy Moser
"I’m finally living my life instead of surviving it. Working with Sara has changed my life."
"Sara is gentle, present, empathetic and very intuitive in providing me with concrete ways to change."
"Over four years ago, I was unable to breathe. I had significant issues with my life that affected my parenting two young children and my relationship with my now husband, but I could not see them. I was angry, miserable and unable to find joy in my day to day life. I was restless, irritable and discontent on a level that made me constantly want to be somewhere or someone else. I couldn’t be present for my job or my family in a meaningful way. I was recommended to Sara after expressing to a friend my unhappiness with the work of two other consultants who only seemed to exacerbate my pain.
Sara listened patiently as I was able to share my fears and insecurities about how I became so stuck in my thinking patterns and reactions to situations. This took time, but the more I was able to be honest and not feel judged by her in any way, the more she was able to guide me out of my self-imposed prison to the freedom to be a much better version of me.
I am now able to accept things and move past situations that used to drive me to anger, depression and relief-seeking in unhealthy ways. I have an abundantly more healthy life physically, mentally and spiritually. I have boundaries that have allowed me to be a better mother and wife. My professional goals are reasonable and practical. I am okay when things are going well and when they fall apart as I have the coping skills she has taught me and her continued support to guide me through.
Sara is gentle, present, empathetic and very intuitive in providing me with concrete ways to change. I have never experienced peace in my life until I was guided to a different mind-set. This came as a direct result of practicing the skills that Sara freely shared with me. She is both professional and personal – sharing her own stories of how she developed her own personal growth in situations with which she struggled.
I see so many people who are stuck in their own lives. They appear to have everything they need to be happy yet they are miserable and negative, unable to transcend the fear that keeps them from change. I am very fortunate to have found the resources within myself that have allowed me to lead a happy, productive life."
-Sarah Coupe , Owner of Grace House, a Recovery Residence for Women
"I started working with Sara on a weekly basis at a time in my life that I was experiencing a lot of transition and necessary transformation. I came to the realization that years of repressed grief and trauma were manifesting in negative behavior that caused me and my loved ones much pain. I needed a safe place to share my challenges and fears and Sara created that space for me. Sara has an incredible ability to provide feedback and support in a way that never feels judgmental or shameful but encourages action in areas that need work.
I have continued to work with Sara on and off for the past 7 years with maintenance sessions when I face new challenges or when old behaviors come back to the surface. Sessions include a combination of holistic, spiritual and action based activities and discussions. She honors where people are at, encourages a positive perspective on tough issues, and helps identify healthy choices for personal growth. Sara’s awareness that everyone hears and accepts information differently causes her to take a gentle and calm approach to working with others."
-Karintha Haberstroh, MSW