- Emotion-focused work
- CBT and DBT skills
- Caregiver support
About Sara
Sara Sutherland is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) practicing in Michigan with eight years of experience. She focuses on common and complex concerns such as anxiety, depression, grief, stress, addiction, and issues tied to chronic or terminal illness. She also works with people dealing with relationship and intimacy-related struggles, parenting stress, ADHD, bipolar mood concerns, and identity issues including LGBT matters.
Sara trained in social work and psychology at Hope College and completed a master’s in clinical social work at Western Michigan University. Her background includes roles in private practice, health care, and hospice care. Those settings shaped her work with people facing life changes, end-of-life questions, grief, and long-term health problems.
In sessions she aims to help people feel seen and heard first. She combines client-centered listening with practical techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy. Conversations move between exploring feelings and trying concrete skills to manage symptoms.
Sara describes herself as genuine and direct in her approach. She will work with clients to set clear goals and practice steps toward change. Sessions include checking progress, teaching coping tools, and talking through painful emotions when they come up.
People often come to her needing support with grief, caregiving strain, communication problems, body image or sexual intimacy concerns, and navigating chronic illness. If the reader wants to know more about format or cost, they are asked to confirm current session options before booking.
How her approaches translate to online sessions
Sara integrates Emotionally-Focused Therapy to help people name and work with difficult emotions that show up in relationships and personal patterns. EFT focuses on identifying feelings, tracking interactional patterns, and creating different emotional responses that can improve connection and self-understanding.She also uses Client-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes active listening and following the client's pace so they feel heard. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is part of her work too, offering concrete tools to notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that feed anxiety or depression.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Sara will talk through goals, try methods that fit the person’s needs, and adjust plans based on what helps most. This is a collaborative process where the client’s experience guides which techniques are used.
Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. It can also allow people to continue therapy while managing caregiving, work, or ongoing medical treatment.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
8+ years
Listed in
Michigan
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
Sara supports people coping with anxiety, depression, grief, stress, addiction, relationship and intimacy challenges, parenting strains, bipolar and ADHD concerns, and issues tied to chronic or terminal illness.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a client-centered approach combined with Emotionally-Focused Therapy, CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to balance listening with practical skills work.
What is her professional background?
She earned undergraduate degrees in social work and psychology from Hope College and a master’s in clinical social work from Western Michigan University, and has worked in private practice, health care, and hospice care for eight years.
Where is she licensed and based?
Sara is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) practicing in Michigan.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.