Sara Walter Shihdanian

Sometimes life feels like a sick joke. Other times I realize I just forgot to eat. Hi, I'm a late diagnosed AuDHD person specializing in helping people (age 15+) get out of their heads, back into their bodies, and connected to their authenticity and empowerment.

I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a background in Psychology and Gender. Since 2018, I've worked with women, the LGBTQ+ population, and the gender diverse community (including 3yrs of full-time, specialized training). Whether this is supporting clients who've struggled with dysfunctional relationships, with anxiety and low self esteem, or needing gender referrals/letters for medical care.

I see therapy like a road trip: you're behind the wheel and I have the map. You're always in charge even if I have a better idea about where we're going. Depression, abuse, and worry all have a way of distorting things. But the experience is still real, so it can be complicated!

This collaborative approach helps clients reach their goals faster because as a team, we're focusing on 2 things:

helping you sort through which things each week that are actually helping vs hurting you, and identifying what's bringing you deeper meaning, which helps keep you stay connected to the bigger picture as the process moves forward.

In session this looks like a variety of techniques including somatic and mindfulness, existential, emotion focused, narrative, and CBT of course. Together we try out different things and keep what works. Ask me about Brainspotting for trauma!

Therapy is hard - its a real relationship between 2 people who just met and you're expected to be really vulnerable really quickly. Talking about abuse, money, sex, fears, family secrets, laughing when you know you maybe shouldn't? I'm here for it. It's ok to be wherever you are. Just letting yourself be heard is a big investment in yourself. It's a big deal because you're a big deal, and I really look forward to being there with you.