About Sara
Professional Experience
Sara is trained as a Professional Certified coach and as a Relational therapist. She is also certified as a Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner. She brings a skill of deep listening and curiosity to her clients. She is known for her ability to understand and connect with not only spoken but unspoken issues. This helps people to tap into what is most important for their growth and overall wellbeing.
Sara’s approach incorporates the most current thinking on human development, neuroscience and the process of change. It recognizes that change cannot happen nor can it be sustained without awareness of existing patterns of behaviour and establishing disciplined new practices of behaviour. Neuroscience has proven that thinking harder is not enough. Real change must engage the whole human being; mind, body and spirit. New behaviours and possibilities emerge from addressing how habits are wired into the body. Her approach supports the emergence of flexibility, strength and resilience.
Sara holds a degree in English literature, is an ICF certified professional coach and has studied clinical psychology at the University of Chicago. She has also studied addictions counselling and has volunteered and worked with family members of people who suffer from addiction.
I needed to learn how to better express myself when I’m in conflict with my partner. In just a short while you helped me gain a new perspective on what’s happening when I shut down. I now see the little girl in me aching to be heard and comforted. I see the manager in me on a mission to fix everything and make sure it’s perfect. And I see the heart of me looking to give and receive love.
Thanks to you I’m learning to appreciate how each of these play a role in my life. Your ability to ask great questions, listen intently and guide me gently to understanding and acceptance has helped me grow and find greater peace. I’m optimistic now about improving communication not just with my partner but with all the wonderful parts of me. It’s truly amazing to feel so empowered and hopeful in the short time we’ve been working together.
What you should know about me…
Personal Experience:
I am a survivor of childhood trauma.
As a premature baby, I spent the first 3 weeks of my life in an incubator. I was not held or comforted in a way that is critical for the development of a newborn baby. My father was an alcoholic and my mother suffered from clinical depression. Did they love me? Yes absolutely. Were they able to meet my emotional needs? Sadly they did not have the capacity or knowledge to support the little 3 year old who was often frightened and left alone in her room. As a young child I experienced night terrors. These continued through much of my adult life. I lived in constant fear and sadness. I survived by working hard and becoming a successful executive with all the external trappings that people would label as “happiness and success.” Underneath I suffered. I was terribly lonely and sad.
After years of analysis and talk therapy I discovered a new approach which taught me that childhood trauma rests in the body. It cannot be healed through talk therapy alone. It must integrate a holistic approach of mind and body. If we work only with the mind, we get stuck in the narratives we create for ourselves. These narratives are often not true. In fact, they stand in the way of our ability to thrive as whole human beings.
The only way I could heal was through an integrative approach combining mind and body.