How Sara works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Years in practice
- 5
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Sara
Sara Contreras is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) who brings five years of clinical work to sessions. She focuses on practical ways to manage stress, anger, anxiety, and depression. Sara speaks plainly and creates space for people to say what they need to say without judgment.
She uses attachment-based and client-centered approaches to understand how early relationships shape current reactions. That helps when people struggle with abandonment, attachment concerns, or ongoing relationship patterns.
Background and approach
She also draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to identify unhelpful thoughts and try small, concrete behavior changes. Sara has experience supporting people after trauma and abuse and uses EMDR when it fits the person’s goals. She also helps with a wide range of life challenges including grief, parenting strain, career shifts, and chronic illness stress.
Anger and intimacy-related issues are included among her focus areas. Sessions are offered in English and she works from California as an LMFT. She aims to make the first visit straightforward: talk about what matters now, set a few short-term goals, and agree on next steps.
Sara can arrange evening or morning appointments and coordinates scheduling with each person. Her style is calm and direct. She listens first, then suggests practical tools people can try between sessions.
People who want clear steps and a steady, nonjudgmental listener may find this approach useful.
What Sara works with
Everything Sara lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Sara's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Sara lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Sara commonly uses attachment-based therapy to look at how early relationships shape current reactions, which can help people understand repeated patterns in close connections. She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, a practical approach that helps identify upsetting thoughts and test small behavior changes to reduce distress.Choosing the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about their goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then try an approach and adjust based on feedback. That way work stays focused on what the person wants to change or understand.
Online sessions are available as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video calls let people use body language and tone during deeper conversations. Phone sessions are handy when bandwidth is limited or someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging allow shorter check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to continue work when in-person meetings aren’t possible.
Questions people ask about Sara
What concerns does she commonly address?
Sara helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, anger, grief, and coping with life changes. She also supports work on intimacy, self-esteem, and relationship-related struggles.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her work blends attachment-based and client-centered methods with practical CBT techniques. Sessions tend to be conversational and focused on real steps people can try between meetings.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has five years of professional experience as a clinician working with a range of concerns including trauma, chronic stress, and mood disorders.
Where is she licensed and practicing?
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, LMFT, practicing in California.
Can I work with her in another language?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to meet different scheduling needs.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.