Sarah Voruz (she/her)

Gestalt

Gestalt Therapy is focused on the present moment, understanding our place in the wider context of the world, and the quality of relationship between the therapist and client. I trained for 7 years with the Gestalt Therapy Training Center - NW, was on the planning committee for The State of the Art of Gestalt Therapy Conference (Portland, October 2015), and organize meetings for the Portland Gestalt Community. I've always thought of Gestalt not just as an orientation but a way of life.

Holistic

My approach gives special attention to the fact that you are more than just a brain. Emotional issues live in our body, and physical issues can affect us emotionally.

Mindfulness-based

I help my clients learn to notice their experience first, rather than immediately interpreting it. This is important because our brain loves shortcuts, and will tell a familiar story about what's happening within and not even check it out to see if it fits. We may also experiment with self-compassion meditations if that fits with your needs. I, myself, have practiced a variety of forms of meditation and focus on mindfulness in my daily life.

Personal Growth

Many people come to me for help managing symptoms, but our work often eventually transforms into helping people not only survive life, but thrive. I invite reflection on the finite reality of life and the importance of identifying what's important to you to feel like you have lived it well.

Men's Issues

Through my work at Allies in Change, I came to understand how the societal expectation that boys 'toughen up' and hide their emotions can lead to a host of difficulties as an adult, including depression, unfulfilling relationships, substance abuse, and other ineffective coping strategies. My training and experience has taught me how to help men reconnect with themselves and others.

Self-Esteem

I believe that we can only have good relationships with others if we first have a good relationship with ourselves. Through research, training, and my own growth work, I have a rich understanding of some of the common ways we lose our connection to ourselves and how to get it back.

PTSD

I primarily work with people who may not recognize trauma in their history, but were impacted on a foundational level from chronic invalidating or neglectful experiences growing up. The ripples this has into adulthood are vast and I offer long-term work to heal wounds that prevented the development of identity, healthy self-esteem, and a trust in oneself and others to meet one's needs.

Depression

Though depression is a common term, the roots and felt experience of each person living with depression are very different. I have worked with a lot of people with depression and my Gestalt therapy orientation provides an excellent path to understand where each person's depression comes from and what they need to heal it.