About Sarah
Sarah Spurling offers a supportive space for people who feel overwhelmed, stuck, or drained by everyday demands. She focuses on helping clients manage stress, anxiety, trauma, grief, and self-esteem concerns, and she brings particular attention to LGBT issues and related identity questions.
Background and approach
With a relational, nonjudgmental stance, Sarah aims to help clients feel understood rather than fixed, so they can approach change at a pace that feels right for them.
As a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) practicing in Illinois with three years of experience, Sarah integrates evidence-based methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with a client-centered, existential sensibility. That blend supports practical skill-building alongside deeper exploration of meaning, attachment, and identity.
She also addresses a range of additional concerns including body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness and disability, dissociation, and family of origin dynamics. Sarah emphasizes collaboration in therapy, helping people develop coping tools that fit daily life and fostering a steadier sense of connection and grounding over time.
She welcomes those who are taking the first step toward change and offers flexible online formats to make ongoing care manageable.
Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients clarify personal values and take meaningful action even when difficult thoughts or emotions are present; it is often useful for anxiety, stress, and challenges with motivation. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and developing practical strategies to change behaviors and reduce symptoms, making it a strong option for anxiety and self-esteem work. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness to help people navigate intense feelings and improve relationships.
Choosing the right approach is collaborative; the therapist will explore a client's goals, preferences, and needs to tailor methods that fit. Sessions often combine skill-building with deeper exploration, and adjustments are made together as progress and priorities evolve.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which can make consistent care easier to maintain alongside work, family, or medical needs. These remote formats allow licensed professionals to deliver the same therapeutic techniques and collaborative planning as in-person work, while offering greater accessibility and convenience for scheduling.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dissociation
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English