Sara Kerai (she/her)

Caregiver stress, anxiety, & burnout is real. Caring for a sick or elderly loved one is a 24/7 job, with no sick days and no vacation days. It often requires a crash course in navigating the health care system, dealing with insurance companies, and communicating with doctors to effectively advocate for your loved one. I have spent countless hours counseling family caregivers who are maxed out, physically and emotionally. I'm here to tell you that you don't need to do this alone.

A diagnosis of cancer can be shocking & overwhelming. My clients have told me that it feels like they have been transported to another planet or a foreign land. So much of the narrative in our culture is about “being strong” & “beating” cancer, that it does not leave much room for expressing fear, anger, or anxiety. I'd love to talk with you about how you're coping with the diagnosis, family dynamics, shoring up your support system, managing side effects & communicating with your team.

Have you encountered people who wonder when you will be “over” your loss, or ready to “move on?” These messages are usually triggering & invalidating, & leave my clients feeling that no one really gets it. I believe that grief is a completely normal & healthy response to a significant loss, & whatever you are feeling right now is OK. As a counselor, my role is to validate your truth, to walk with you on this journey, to help you harness your inner resilience, & to create a space for self-care.

The cornerstone of Imago Relationship Therapy is teaching the couple "intentional dialogue" and good communication skills that are best practices for any relationship. I will help you to communicate directly with your spouse or partner, using mirroring, validation, and empathy, so that you can re-connect with your beloved, and feel heard and understood in your relationship.

Research demonstrates that mindfulness-based approaches are effective for coping with trauma, depression, and anxiety. I can teach you helpful tools, such as simple mindfulness meditations, guided imagery, breathing exercises, progressive relaxation, and focusing the attention on the present moment, that you can use when you are feeling, distressed, overwhelmed or anxious. We can practice them in sessions together, and then you can practice at home as well.

I believe that you have strength, potential, resilience and wisdom inside of you, and that stressful experiences can send us spiraling into our most basic fight-or-flight responses. As a person-centered therapist, I provide a non-anxious, non-judgmental presence, empathy, and support your goals, rather than pathologizing or giving a lot of advice. I believe in your inherent potential for growth and change & the strength of the therapeutic relationship to help you on your journey.

The psychodynamic approach takes into account that our early experiences with our primary caregivers create templates that profoundly shape the way we interact with the world today, both consciously and unconsciously. Psychodynamic therapists also note that our patterns for interacting with others sometimes come up in the therapy itself, and we tend to that.