Portland Therapy Center
Sarah Waltrip

Sarah Waltrip (she/her)

Student Counselor

M.Ed., BA

Supervisor: Marie Mellberg, LPC, CSC

I work with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, relationship challenges, and self-esteem.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

971-270-4565

650 NE Holladay St

Portland, 97232

1942 NW Kearney St

Portland, Oregon 97209

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $130

Provides free initial consultation

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Relationship
  • Teen

Insurances Accepted

  • Cigna
  • Kaiser
  • Providence Health Plan
  • Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield

My Ideal Client

Many people who reach out for therapy are thoughtful, capable, and deeply invested in their relationships, yet still find themselves feeling uncertain or stretched thin. I work with individuals, couples, and families navigating relationship challenges, self-esteem, and anxiety. I specialize in supporting couples, young adults, survivors of intimate partner abuse, parents breaking cycles of generational trauma, and LGBTQIA clients. I welcome clients of all backgrounds.

My Approach to Helping

The therapy process can help you develop greater awareness of your emotions, gain tools for improving relationship dynamics, and manage ADHD, anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout. My approach to therapy is grounded in respect, honoring your expertise in your own life. We will start by discussing your background, goals and values, and making plans together to help relieve distress. When you feel ready, we can explore the deeper patterns and systems underneath life's challenges, and use your strengths to expand long-term resilience. With couples, I use an emotionally focused lens, helping you understand cycles of conflict and the feelings underneath them. I am a counseling intern and am currently completing a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of West Alabama. I work under the guidance of experienced and licensed professionals. Prior to becoming a therapist, I was a teacher and a school principal.

My Values as a Therapist

I am a counseling student intern at Sakura Counseling in Portland, OR. Our approach is to look at the environment we live in, and the ways in which systems – whether judicial, religious, or social – play a part in perpetuating oppression. We not only collaborate with you to better understand those factors, we help prepare you to transition back into your environment in way that makes you better equipped to face the challenges that exist there. Counseling sessions aren’t about feeling weak, stigmatizing, or labeling. They’re about gaining strength of understanding, and building new methods to cope and overcome. Or as we like to say, “go from enduring to someone who thrives.” I deeply respect the courage it takes to reach out. If this sounds like a good fit, you’re welcome to call or email to schedule a brief consultation and see if working together feels right.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Emotionally Focused External link

    I have completed foundational training as well as Level 1 training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a research-supported, attachment-based approach that helps people understand the emotional patterns that shape how they connect with others.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) External link

    I have completed basic training in Internal Family Systems. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a gentle, evidence-based approach that views the mind as having different “parts,” each trying to protect you in some way, even when their strategies feel overwhelming or self-sabotaging. Therapy helps you build a calmer, more compassionate relationship with these parts so you can respond to life with more clarity, choice, and self-trust.

  • Relational  External link

    I use a feminist relational-cultural approach that understands emotional distress in the context of relationships, power, and social systems rather than as individual weakness or pathology.

  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) External link

    I have completed training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy, which is a cognitive therapy focused on processing trauma. These approaches are useful for practical actions and thought process shifts that can provide relief of symptoms, helping you access greater stability to move toward deeper work.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    If you find yourself repeating the same relationship patterns - arguing with your partner, pulling away, feeling unseen, or getting stuck in conflict - therapy can help make sense of what’s happening beneath the surface. I work from an attachment-based and trauma-informed perspective, helping clients understand patterns without assigning blame to themselves or others.

  • Women's Issues External link

    Many women come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or caught between competing roles and expectations. Therapy can be a space to slow down, tell the truth, and reconnect with your own needs. My approach recognizes how societal, cultural, and relational pressures impact women’s mental health. We focus on strengthening self-trust, clarifying boundaries, and reducing the internalized belief that you must do more or be more to be worthy.

  • Self-Esteem External link

    Many people come to therapy feeling stuck in cycles of self-doubt, self-criticism, or feeling “not enough,” even when they are highly capable or outwardly successful. In our work together, we would focus on understanding where these beliefs came from and how they’ve been reinforced over time. Our work is trauma-informed and non-judgmental, recognizing that low self-esteem often develops in response to relationships, life experiences, and societal expectations, not personal failure.

Contact Sarah

Optional note (300 character limit). Please do not include sensitive medical information.