About Sara
Sara Sutherland is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) based in Michigan who helps people facing anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD, and major life changes. She aims to make clients feel seen and heard from the first conversation. Her style is warm and straightforward so people can talk honestly about what’s hard.
Sara trained in social work and psychology at Hope College and received a master’s degree in clinical social work from Western Michigan University.
Background and approach
She has about eight years of experience across independent practice, health care, and hospice settings. That mix of experience shaped how she supports people through illness, loss, and transitions. In sessions she focuses on practical steps as well as emotional support.
She listens first to understand each person’s day-to-day challenges, then works with them to set clear goals and small changes that fit their life. Techniques include talking through thought patterns, building emotion regulation skills, and practicing mindful ways to respond to stress.
Sara works with concerns that range from compassion fatigue and chronic illness to relationship struggles, parenting stress, addiction, and self‑esteem issues. She also supports people navigating fertility, end-of-life concerns, caregiver stress, and isolation. Her approach blends realistic coping strategies with a compassionate, nonjudgmental presence.
People who choose her can expect steady support, practical tools, and a collaborative plan for growth. She encourages clients to move at their own pace and celebrates progress, however small it may feel.
Approaches for online support and practical coping
Sara uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space where clients lead the conversation and feel heard. This approach helps when someone needs time to clarify their values and figure out what matters most to them.She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which looks at how thoughts and behaviors affect feelings and teaches concrete techniques to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, ADHD-related struggles, and developing routines that reduce overwhelm.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. She will collaborate with each client to choose methods that match their goals and daily life, and she adjusts plans as progress is made. Clients help shape the pace and focus of sessions so the work feels relevant and doable.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls are good for in-depth conversations and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text messaging can support quick check-ins or brief coaching between sessions. These options help make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask
What issues does she commonly help with?
How would you describe her therapy style?
What kind of experience does she bring?
What are her credentials and location?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.