Sara Sutherland , LMSW

Sara Sutherland is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) practicing in Michigan with eight years of clinical experience. She completed undergraduate studies in social work and psychology at Hope College and earned a master’s degree focused on clinical social work from Western Michigan University.

Her professional background includes work in private practice, health care settings, and hospice care, experiences that have shaped her ability to support people through a range of medical, life transition, and end-of-life concerns. Sara works with diverse populations and specializes in stress, anxiety, grief, depression, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, addictions, LGBT concerns, relationship and family difficulties, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, parenting challenges, anger, self-esteem, bipolar disorder, and ADHD.

She centers her work on helping clients feel seen and heard while providing practical support to foster change and growth. Sara draws on client-centered methods alongside cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavior, emotionally-focused, and mindfulness-informed techniques to tailor care to each person’s needs. Genuineness and sincere support are hallmarks of her approach as she guides people toward greater resilience and toward becoming who they are meant to be.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Sara Sutherland uses client-centered therapy to create a respectful, empathetic space where clients are encouraged to share their experience and lead the pace of change. This approach helps individuals feel validated and supports personal exploration of values, goals, and identity.

She also integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and developing practical strategies to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills are used when emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness are priorities, offering tools for managing intense feelings and improving relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Sara works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods align with their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts techniques over time to match progress and changing concerns.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which provide flexibility to fit therapy into busy schedules or different life circumstances. These modalities make it easier to access licensed professionals from home or while traveling, and they support ongoing work between sessions through messaging and check-ins.