Meet Sarah
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker
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Offers counseling to adults (18 and older)
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Uses Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, Acceptance-based therapies, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), EMDR
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Affirming of all gender identities, gender expressions and sexualities
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Accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield (except for Blue Local and Blue Value plans), Aetna, Private Pay or Reduced Fee clients
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When I'm not counseling, I am working in my garden, playing guitar, or snuggling one (or all) of my three dogs.
The Basics
Sarah Dunsmore, LCSW
You want to feel more agency in your life to make decisions, be free of anxiety and depression, and to build healthy, connected relationships. You want fulfillment, to feel more authentically aligned with self, and to be able to call upon your values to make decisions in your life and relationships.
Past trauma, harsh or abusive parenting in childhood, abuse by loved ones, loss, or instability may be causing conflict and distress in your life.
Maybe it is difficult to know how to solve these problems or meet your needs with the tools and supports you currently have. You might feel frustrated, confused, hopeless, defeated, exhausted, or overwhelmed.
Much of what we go through as humans we have not been given a map for, and many times the things that happened to us are not our fault. We haven't been given the tools to climb out of distress. We feel the way we feel for a reason- and there are tools to give you the agency you've been needing in your life.
I understand the ways in which trauma, pain, and distress lead to suffering and blocked goals.
With over 10 years as a mental health professional and a deep commitment to my own healing and growth, I offer a space for therapeutic work that is both well-informed by research and training, and personally connected.
Our work together follows a few important steps.
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I listen. I want to know your story, as well as your current problems, triggers, and situational difficulties.
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We get to the root of it. We work together to make links between earlier life experiences and current suffering. I want you to be informed, and will help you understand why these past experiences are causing problems.
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Name the change. We identify the places you feel stuck in habits, patterns, thoughts, or emotional pain.
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We create a new map. We work together to help you create a more compassionate environment for yourself. I offer ideas and teaching on skills for your short-term and long-term goals. We use experiential practice in sessions so you know how to use these tools outside of session
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Integrate. Throughout our work together, we focus on ways you can integrate the work you are doing in therapy into your daily life. While we are doing this, we integrate past experiences, giving you the freedom to live wholly in the present.
Asking for help is challenging. We all feel vulnerable when we are in need. You are not alone in that fear, but in working with me you will find a wholly accepting and supportive space to achieve the change you want.
Set up a free consultation call with me today to learn more about how we can work together.
Those I work with often tell me they feel a greater sense of confidence and ease in navigating challenging life experiences. We can't make pain disappear, but I can help you learn to relate to pain, and teach you skills to help you live the life you want.
Contact Me Directly At:
sarah.dunsmore@birchcounselingdurham.com
919-808-2840
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