about . . .
Sara Powers, MS, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #97754
Supervised by Julie Messer, LMFT #83220
Sara grew up in Arroyo Grande and has been living in and around San Luis Obispo County for the majority of her life. She attended University of California, Irvine, where she graduated with honors and received a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior, with a minor in Criminology, Law, and Society. Sara went on to attend graduate school at California State University East Bay and obtained a Masters of Science in Counseling, with focus in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Sara has worked counseling children in an elementary school setting and previously worked in a non-profit setting with youth, families, and young adults with severe mental health diagnoses. Working with families has allowed Sara to develop a comprehensive view of how to treat clients and facilitate their development of healthier boundaries and relationships. Many of the clients that Sara has worked with have experienced some form of trauma, whether it be childhood trauma, the loss of a loved one, or other significant relational trauma. Therapy offers a safe space to process through these past hurts.
Sara combines a variety of techniques and approaches to address client’s specific needs including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Narrative Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Family Systems Theory, Art therapy skills, Play Therapy, Psychoeducation, and Mindfulness techniques.
“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”
—Brene Brown