Sara Saveanu (Intern Therapist)

Sara Saveanu (she/they) is an intern therapist at The Center for Growth beginning August 26th, 2024-August 2025. She is currently studying at Chestnut Hill College and is expected to receive a master's degree in clinical and counseling psychology in August 2025. Sara believes that every individual deserves the opportunity to heal. She is a part of the diverse and underserved track at Chestnut Hill College because she wishes to increase accessibility to mental healthcare services for marginalized communities and to stay culturally informed in her practice. She believes that mental health care and psychoeducation have the power to heal not only individuals, but whole communities.

Sara is a warm, open-minded, and empathetic individual who aims to create a safe and comfortable space for clients to explore, learn about themselves, grow, and ultimately achieve their goals. To do so, she takes a holistic approach tailored to individual client needs. Sara draws many of her techniques from psychodynamic therapy, person-centered therapy, narrative therapy, person-in-environment theory, trauma-informed therapy, and mindfulness to understand and assist a diverse range of clientele. She creates an honest, authentic space free of judgment for healthy curiosity and exploration of self to occur as the client is ready.

Sara has interest in working with clients in the following areas:

Neurodivergence
LGBTQIA+ identity exploration
Trauma/PTSD
Multicultural issues, diversity, and oppression
Attachment/relationship issues
Non-traditional relationships
Depression
Anxiety
Grief/loss
Self-esteem
Personality disorders
Stress and burnout
Life transitions
Eating disorders/body dysmorphia
Sex therapy/sexual dysfunction

Background

Sara has a passion for psychology and helping others that began at a young age. She has always been fascinated by both the individuality and the communality of the human experience. Sara believes that every person can benefit from therapy to gain a deeper understanding and awareness of themselves and their behaviors.

Sara began her studies at the University of Miami where she obtained her B.A. in psychology. She has a wide variety of passions she explored during her time in college where she was able to graduate with three minors in women and gender studies, philosophy, and ecosystem science and policy. She is an advocate for social justice and the environment and has interests spanning from creative writing to yoga and mindfulness practices, music, art, and the outdoors. Her goal is to integrate her many passions into her work as a therapist and use her creativity to help others.

Sara spent years working in the wellness industry after college where she learned the importance of community and how to create a safe, inclusive space for people to be accepted, uplifted, and supported by one another. As a manager, she learned how to adapt to the unique learning and feedback styles and needs of a diverse team, and the importance of compassion, humility, listening, and taking ownership of her mistakes as a leader.

In her current studies, Sara has developed a holistic counseling skillset focused on diverse and underserved communities. She has explored the topics of global mental health, substance use, couples and family systems, autism spectrum disorders, culture and gender, individual and large-scale trauma, development and attachment, LGBTQIA+ competencies, and marriage and sexuality.

Sara is drawn to psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory through her own therapeutic journey. She has found that understanding the origins of one’s behavior generates rich insights that allow for self-discovery. By gaining a deeper understanding of oneself, one can gain autonomy of one’s behaviors so that they are no longer rooted in reactivity, but rather awareness, compassion, and thoughtfulness.

Sara hopes that during her career she can make therapy more accessible and approachable. Her goal is to offer low-cost services for those who cannot normally afford mental health care and to help erase the stigmas surrounding mental health through advocacy and education. After receiving her master’s degree and becoming a licensed professional counselor, Sara wishes to continue her education and obtain a Doctor of Psychology, and then go on to become a certified psychoanalyst.

Person-Centered Approach

Sara understands that every person has a unique experience, worldview, and background and respects her patients’ individuality by remaining open, listening to, and learning about every client's distinctive needs. She believes that clients should feel empowered in therapy to lead sessions and collaborate with their therapist to come up with therapeutic goals and a plan to achieve them. In this way, Sara takes a person-centered approach to therapy and honors her clients by meeting them where they are at. The client is the expert in their life and experiences and thus it is up to the therapist to adapt to the client rather than the other way around.

Person-In-Environment

Sara firmly believes that you cannot remove a person from the context of their environment. Context is crucial to understanding a person and creating a treatment plan that makes sense for the client. In a therapeutic space, Sara explores how a person’s environment from a micro to a macro level impacts their behavior and vice versa. When relevant, it is important to address a client's concerns through the context of their immediate environment and society as a whole.

Psychodynamic Theory

Sara is a strong believer that our past experiences affect our current behaviors and our understanding of the world. She uses a psychodynamic approach to help clients recognize and understand behavioral patterns and believes that to create real, lasting change, it is imperative to get to the root of the issue. Exploring family dynamics, profound experiences, and past relationships helps us to understand our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. By exploring our past and bringing our unconscious thoughts into awareness, we can build a deeper understanding of ourselves and challenge unhealthy patterns and maladaptive coping strategies.

Trauma-Informed Care

Sara recognizes the profound effect of trauma on the mind and body. She takes a trauma-informed approach when investigating a person’s reaction to their environment. We develop coping mechanisms to function in our environment driven by survival and safety. Once we are removed from unsafe situations, these mechanisms that were once adaptive can begin to inhibit us. Rather than focusing on pathologizing client’s behaviors, Sara believes in the importance of understanding the function of trauma in the development of certain behaviors, feelings, and beliefs as it is applicable to the patient. By understanding the impact of trauma, clients can begin to heal.

To begin to process trauma, Sara first works with clients to come up with strategies to calm their mind and body through mindfulness and grounding. Events that trigger memories of a traumatic event can impact our ability to think and act appropriately or disconnect us from our environment. Mindfulness exercises help a person feel safe and present in their bodies and grounded in their immediate surroundings. This is an essential first step so that a person can explore their trauma safely.

Once a person feels safe, calm, and present they can begin to work through traumatic experiences, which is imperative to the healing process. Sara uses techniques such as narrative therapy to help a client explore their story on their own terms through their lens and work through areas of distortion that are impacting their ability to function and move forward.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques can also be utilized for a variety of mental health concerns. Stress and burnout are prevalent issues in the modern age, especially with the introduction of advanced technology and the constant stimulation and communication that comes along with that. Mindfulness is a helpful tool to learn how to disconnect from stressors, reconnect with our bodies, and find inner peace amongst the chaos of life. Mindfulness practices allow us a space to not only calm an anxious mind, but also to freely explore our thoughts without judgement and live a more centered and fulfilled life.

Neurodivergence

Sara has an interest in working with clients who are neurodivergent and believes that every brain deserves to be understood, celebrated, and uplifted. Rather than expecting those with neurodivergence to adapt their behavior to ‘fit in’ to their environment, Sara strongly believes in empowering neurodivergent individuals to utilize their strengths to create an environment that celebrates living their lives authentically. Sara hopes to work with neurodivergent individuals to enhance their quality of life and embrace their differences.

Queer Identities

Sara also has an interest in working with individuals that are a part of LGBTQIA+ community or exploring any and all spectrums of gender or sexuality. As a member of the queer community, Sara understands firsthand the complex and difficult process of exploring one’s identity and searching for safety, community, and acceptance throughout this process. There is so much beauty in self-discovery and finding freedom of self-expression, but along with that there can also be pain, loss, and discrimination that those in the LGBTQIA+ community face daily. Every person’s journey with their gender and sexuality is unique, and Sara hopes to help members who are a part of this community discover who they are in a safe, curious, and accepting space and learn how to integrate their identity into all aspects of their life outside of the therapy room.

Sex Therapy

Sara strongly believes that everyone is entitled to a safe, healthy, and fulfilling sex life. She understands that this will look different for every individual and is here to help you meet your gratification goals. By building supportive, safe, and trustworthy relationships with her clients, Sara opens up a non-judgmental space for honest and vulnerable conversations about sex and intimacy. Sara wishes to dismantle negative stigmas associated with sex while also recognizing and respecting that an individual's personal beliefs may play a role in their views of sex and their personal sexual goals. There are many reasons a person might experience dissatisfaction in their sex life, and Sara is here to help you explore the root cause of your sexual concerns. She is open to working with individuals, couples, those in non-traditional relationships, and queer identifying individuals to have fulfilling and healthy sex lives.