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I am an LPC (licensed practicing counselor) in the State of Alabama and have been practicing for about 15 years. I have about 20 years of experience working in the field. I have worked with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, self-esteem, OCD, ADHD and many other concerns. I have worked in a wide variety of settings, including residential treatment, inpatient hospitalization, correctional settings, outpatient and online format as well. I specialize in working with people who have experienced trauma, have relationship issues with food, eating disorders and those who identify as LGBTQ. This is a safe space!
My counseling style is collaborative, interactive and guided by your needs. This is a safe space, where you will not find judgment. My approach combines cognitive-behavioral, acceptance commitment therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness based, strengths based and other styles of counseling. I will tailor to your needs and expressed wishes; we will together to determine your therapeutic needs.
I recognize the difficulty of seeking help and of creating change; I am here to help you every step of the way! I look forward to working with you!
Professional experience
15yrs in practice
Additional areas of focus:Addictions, Relationship issues, Family conflicts, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Sleeping disorders, Anger management, Self esteem, Coping with life changes, Coaching, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Body Image, Communication Problems, Divorce and Separation, Domestic Violence, Eating and Food-Related Issues, Emptiness, Family of Origin Issues, Family Problems, Forgiveness, Gender Dysphoria, Guilt and Shame, Hoarding, Impulsivity, Infidelity, Jealousy, Mood Disorders, Obsessions, Compulsions, and OCD, Panic Disorder and Panic Attacks, Phobias, Polyamory / Nonmonogamous Relationships, Post-traumatic Stress, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-Love, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Sexual Dysfunction, Sexuality, Social Anxiety and Phobia, Trichotillomania, Women's Issues
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Sara Nielsen. We don’t pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Sara has been a great help with starting therapy back up. She listens and challenges you to think about things in a different light - in the best way possible. Would highly recommend her.
Written on Jan 13, 2023 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, grief, eating disorders, and self esteem
Sara is the most amazing therapist! I have a couple therapists in the past that were very good but not quite the right fit for me and I really wanted someone to challenge and push me. She is such a perfect balance of that person to challenge me while validating and listening and empathetizing with everything I say and go through. She asks questions that make me think and actually look at my own thought processing, beliefs of the world and my inner world and self, and my actions. I never feel like I am "on the stand" or have to prove my thoughts or feelings but I am directed to challenge myself and I see real, lasting change! I have grown and healed more with her as my therapist for the short time we have already been together than I have in the 3 years of therapy I was in before her! I highly, highly recommend her!
Written on Nov 02, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 months on issues concerning relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, parenting issues, coping with life changes, coaching, compassion fatigue, and adhd
Sara is thorough and methodical in making sure she gets to really know me, understands my past and current struggles, and helps me see more clearly. With her support, I am beginning to find the root causes of my suffering and make healthy steps to move forward.
Written on Oct 12, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, and trauma and abuse
Sara has been wonderful to me, just what I need.
Thank you!
Written on Oct 07, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 8 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, and coping with life changes
As of right now I think she understands me
Written on Sep 26, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, sleeping disorders, anger management, coping with life changes, and adhd
She has been amazing
Written on Sep 23, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, self esteem, coping with life changes, and adhd
I feel i am heard and receive great advice when asked. I wish the sessions were longer she is great!
Written on Aug 30, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, family conflicts, eating disorders, self esteem, coping with life changes, and adhd
Sara has given me a sense of peace. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. She listens to you when needed and offers amazing advice.
Written on Aug 25, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 years on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, lgbt, relationship issues, family conflicts, self esteem, and coping with life changes
Best therapist I've ever been able to find!
Written on Aug 01, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 1 year and 5 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, self esteem, and adhd
Sara has been very helpful in helping me deconstruct my trauma and unlearn harmful thought patterns.
Written on Jun 09, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 1 year and 9 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, and self esteem
She is patient and understanding
Written on May 27, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, and relationship issues
10/10 never any complaints. I always feel like she listens and gives me all the tools I need to succeed. We go at my pace but she also pushes me to do my best. She’s reassuring when I need it and has helped me more than I can express. I know she truly cares and always has my best interest in mind. I feel comfortable telling her anything.
Written on May 09, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 8 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, bipolar disorder, coping with
I enjoy working with Sara. Every conversation feels natural and comfortable. I don’t feel like I’m pressured to move faster than I’m ready to and I look forward to our conversations.
Written on May 02, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 4 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, lgbt, relationship issues, self esteem, and adhd
I am really enjoying my sessions with Sara!
Written on Feb 28, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and self esteem
She challenges my way of thinking in positive ways and helps me to better understand and evaluate what I’m feeling and why I’m feeling it. She’s kind and helpful and I’m grateful I found her.
Written on Feb 01, 2022 after therapy with Sara for 2 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, coping with life changes, and adhd
Sara is professional, yet very easy to talk to even about the intensely personal issues with which I'm dealing. She's always very compassionate and I've never once felt judged about anything that I'm sharing. I've found this trait to be a rare one in therapists and for that reason (among many others), I would highly recommend her!
Written on Dec 06, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, self esteem, relationship issues, family conflicts, and coping with life changes
This is the first Therapist I found that I actually enjoy talking to and feel confident in their ability to help. Sara is always quick to respond, informative, non judge mental, and punctual. You can tell just through conversations she is passionate about what she does and extremely knowledgeable. Sara is an expert at providing a safe and open environment for communication. Highly recommend!
Written on Nov 17, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 3 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, grief, self esteem, and adhd
She is very easy to talk to and seems to really understand where I am coming from.
Written on Nov 11, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 1 month on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, and intimacy-related issues
I love work with Sara. She validates my feelings and helps me find ways to cope.
Written on Nov 02, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 5 months on issues concerning trauma and abuse, self esteem, and adhd
Sarah has been absolutely amazing. She listens very intently and is always willing to make time to message back or address urgent concerns. She sends worksheets that allow you to assess different things about you and help you along the way. Definitely recommend.
Written on Sep 01, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, and coping with life changes
Sara has been an absolute life saver. I started seeing her a little over a month ago, almost two months, and since then I don't feel like I'm crumbling like I did before. Before Sara, I was in and out of the doctor's office, admitted myself into a psychiatric hospital, and was fighting the urges to crawl into a ball and cry myself to sleep. Now, I can get up every morning, eat something, play with my daughter again, and can go out and about without feeling like I need a puke bucket (just in case). Thank you so much Sara for everything. I would suggest you to everyone if I could.
Written on Sep 01, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 1 month
It has been a welcome distraction having this. Whether I use my journal or not. Ita nice to review thing we have gone through.
Written on Jun 16, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 1 month on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship issues, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, compassion fatigue, and adhd
Sara is very compassionate and listens to me. She also provides me with reassurance and helps boost my confidence. She helps me understand that what I'm going through is rough and not to beat myself up over things I'm feeling.
Written on May 19, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, and relationship issues
In only a couple of sessions, Sara has already supported me through my PTSD more than any other method of therapy my entire life. I've tried several attempts at therapy over the years, but Sara is a great listener, honest, and she shows she understands by giving great references and worksheets throughout the week. It's not just going from session to session. She is supportive all the time! Thank you so much!
Written on Apr 07, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting issues, self esteem, and compassion fatigue
She has been SO involved, and the bits of "homework" that she sends me are extremely relevant to what we are focusing on in our sessions.
Written on Apr 01, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning eating disorders
She has been very helpful in my chaotic life.
Written on Mar 31, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 7 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, compassion fatigue, and adhd
Sara is a wonderful counselor. She is a great listener and very gentle. She is easy to talk to. If you are looking for a great listener, she is the one!
Written on Mar 01, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 5 months on issues concerning depression, eating disorders, self esteem, and coping with life changes
So far so good! I have a lot more work to do but I’m confident Sara will help me on this journey.
Written on Feb 25, 2021 after therapy with Sara for 4 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, self esteem, career difficulties, coping with life changes, and coaching
I appreciate Sara’s flexibility and understanding. She has, so far been helpful and gracious in offering me support.
Written on Dec 24, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, career difficulties, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue
Sara has been extremely helpful and easy to work with over the past 4 months. Felt it was very easy to open up to her and work through things. She has given me many strategies to succeed and ways to manage my problems. While counselors aren't one size fits all, I would recommend Sara without hesitation to everybody who asks about therapy.
Written on Nov 04, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, anger management, and coping with life changes
I receive very informative information weekly! We have only had two sessions but I have a feeling of warmth and security which doesn’t happen often! I can’t wait to continue working with Sara and what she can help me with!
Written on Nov 02, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, self esteem, career difficulties, and adhd
She is super supportive and awesome!
Written on Oct 28, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks
I really enjoy my sessions with Sara and often find myself looking forward to the next week’s. Sara is kind and thoughtful. I feel heard and comfortable to talk about anything.
Written on Oct 12, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, and coping with life changes
Sara is great. She listens and offers advice that is realistic. I felt comfortable almost immediately talking to her
Written on Aug 31, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, career difficulties, and adhd
Sara was so incredibly supportive, and some days the most down to earth / best person to talk to. She gave me amazing advice, and truly was so motivating in all the ways I didn’t even realize I needed. If I could have continued to work with her (boo moving) I would have in a heartbeat.
Written on Jul 30, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 4 months on issues concerning bipolar disorder
Sara was nice and addressed my concerns.
Written on Jun 25, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, self esteem, anger management, and adhd
Great. Timely, understanding, offers a variety of coping skills.
Written on Mar 25, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 4 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, family conflicts, self esteem, and coping with life changes
Thank you so much for all your support. It’s nice to have a place to work out all the thoughts going on in my head without judgment or feeling forced to process all at once.
Written on Feb 07, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, and adhd
Sara is really easy to talk to and understanding! As someone who has been pretty nervous in therapy in the past, I'm very glad that I was matched with her. I feel like she's already been helping me a lot. It's nice to know there's someone who cares about your perspective and truly gets it.
Written on Jan 29, 2020 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning family conflicts, and trauma and abuse
She has been very helpful to me and I am very grateful for that !
Written on Dec 04, 2019 after therapy with Sara for 2 weeks on issues concerning trauma and abuse
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