Sara Contreras, LMFT

Sara Contreras is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California with five years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, and big life changes. Sara works to make starting therapy feel possible and straightforward for people who are nervous about that first step.

She prefers a warm, open approach where clients can speak honestly about thoughts and feelings. Sessions aim to reduce overwhelm and build clearer ways to cope. When trauma or painful memories are present, she uses methods that support processing those experiences at a pace the client can manage.

Sara integrates attachment-focused work to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. She also uses client-centered principles that prioritize the person’s experience and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is part of her toolkit for targeted trauma work.

Her practice includes attention to intimacy-related concerns, relationship stress, ADHD, grief, parenting strain, body image, and compassion fatigue. She is also familiar with topics such as abandonment, codependency, and kink-friendly conversations when these come up in sessions.

Scheduling is flexible with many evening and some morning options. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a time that fits both of them. Sara encourages people to say what they need so sessions can be arranged around their life.

How these approaches work in online therapy

Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early bonds influence current relationships and feelings. Online sessions can be a place to name those patterns, practice new ways of relating, and try different responses in everyday life. Client-Centered Therapy centers the person's experience and priorities, giving space for people to lead the conversation while the therapist follows and reflects back what matters most. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thoughts and behaviors and trying small experiments to change them, which can be practiced between sessions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about symptoms, goals, and preferences, and together they will choose which methods to try first. That plan can change as progress is made and new needs emerge.

Confirm the supported session formats before booking, as the profile does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week by reducing travel time and allowing more scheduling flexibility. It can also make shorter check-ins or evening sessions simpler to arrange, which helps therapy work around school, work, and caregiving demands rather than replacing them.