Hi, I’m Sara (she/her) and I can’t wait to work with you! 

I am a therapist who is grounded, realistic and hopeful. I am curious and creative. You are the expert of your own experience, and it can be helpful to have another perspective. I’m a direct communicator and frequent feedback deliverer. I enjoy using humor in our process and will embrace the hard moments. I will support you in your moments of transformation, metamorphosis and discovery of the self. I will create a space for you to feel not judged and supported.

I’ll meet you where you are and really get to know you, even the parts that feel hard or prickly. I accept all of you and where you are in this moment, by fully listening and witnessing. We will adventure inward to help you find what’s keeping you stuck. Understanding your own patterns and connecting to your inner self can illuminate a path forward. We will work together to create change. I believe you have inner knowing and wisdom that can be evoked to make changes that feel true to you. I create a collaborative space for your journey where you can learn new skills, nurture inner change and feel safe being challenged.

I offer talk therapy for growth, introspection, reflection, processing and skill building. I also offer dance/movement therapy for those who feel like they've talked and talked but haven't made the progress they are searching for, and for those who want to feel a deeper integration between mind & body, a full bodied way of being.

The professional stuff:

I attended Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR for my Bachelors of Science with a double major in psychology and dance. I completed graduate education at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA for a Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a Specialization in Dance/Movement Therapy. 

My experience as a counselor includes working with groups and individuals in day treatment facilities, in-patient, private practice and with those who are incarcerated or forensically involved. The approaches I draw from are trauma-informed and strengths-based. I weave in tangible skills from dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, goal setting and problem solving. I like to bring in skills. I approach the therapeutic relationship with gentle directness and curiosity. I also weave-in understanding of movement patterns and their qualities, which gives me information about your embodied experience. I may reflect back to you verbally what I have witnessed, opening up discussion how your spoken lived experiences intertwine with your body’s experience. What can be said non-verbally that’s been hard to say verbally? We can move it and then talk about it! Sometimes the movement may be something as simple as breathing together. 

I am an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) in Oregon and a BC-DMT (Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist). 

You can reach Sara directly at sara.mcintyre@sproutthereapypdx.com