My Approach
“I no longer want to be resilient. I don’t want to simply bounce back from things that hurt me or cause me pain. Bouncing back means returning to where I stood before.
Instead, I want to go beyond the hurts and the darkness.Â
The first step toward genuine healing from my mental illness was when I came to trust and believe that there was a beyond.
Now I reach for beyond every day, in every encounter, in every circumstance. I seek to go where I have never traveled.
I wake with the vision of a purposeful day, filled with adventure and teachings. Then I take the first step and try to make it beyond.” ~ Richard WagameseÂ
Beyond Vitality is moving from simply being resilient to actively seeking a new and better future, or "Beyond".
Bouncing back from trauma - resilience - only returns us to our previous state, leaving us vulnerable to being hurt in the same ways again. Instead, we invite a more transformative path — one that embraces trauma as a catalyst for deep healing and lasting growth.
Integrative Healing for Mind, Body & Spirit
I am a root cause, Trauma-Informed Counsellor, Life Coach, and Holistic Nutritionist specializing in integrative mental health for Highly Sensitive Women. My approach is very much holistic, addressing the underlying causes of mental health and wellbeing. I believe true healing happens when we nurture and nourish all aspects of the Self - mind, body and spirit.
My work is deeply informed by experiential therapies like Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Parts Work, Somatic Experiencing (SE), Polyvagal Theory (PVT), Psychonutrition and Behavioural Medicine (lifestyle). I value the wisdom of the body, nervous system regulation, and mind-body healing in combination with an understanding that we are not one single "self" but rather a system of parts, each with its own needs and wounds. When appropriate, I also weave in ancient wisdom and ritual into modern therapy, informed by my personal work and connection with indigenous cultures, shamanism, plant medicines and Nature-Based Therapy (NBT), creating a personalized healing experience that nourishes and integrates the four quadrants of health; mental, spiritual, emotional, physical. I am also trained in Psychedelic Preparation and Integration, providing a trauma-informed space for meaning-making and personal growth in “altered states for altered traits.” Beyond the above mentioned modalities, I am also Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Solution Focused Therapy informed.
With a broad knowledge base in various areas of integrative mental health, I tailor sessions to meet your individual needs, promoting optimal wellbeing and personal growth. I support you in navigating trauma by helping you connect with your self-energy and understand your internal parts. Through our work, you’ll uncover the unique stories within, learning to integrate these parts and heal from past wounds. This process empowers you to move forward with a renewed sense of purpose, balance, and inner peace.
Mental Health as Healthcare.
I view counselling as healthcare because our emotional and mental health directly influences our physical health and vice versa. Vitality is not just the absence of illness, but the natural flow of energy and aliveness within us, which can become diminished when parts of us carry burdens from the past. Unhealed experiences and protective parts can impact not only our emotions and thoughts, but also how our bodies feel and function. I believe that when we experience true safety, our system has an innate ability to heal, and from that place of safety, we can access a deeper wisdom that goes beyond the thinking mind. We take a deep dive into mental health's many psychological and physiological aspects. By gently supporting the mind, body, and spirit together, counselling helps release burdens from the past, restore connection and safety within, and rekindle vitality as an essential foundation for overall wellbeing.
What I Believe
You’re in control.
The truth is that only you can get you well. We all need time to validate our suffering, but then we need to step into a place of self-empowerment and sovereignty. By reclaiming responsibility for your health, transformation begins.
When you know better,
you do better.
Your body and mind were designed to be a self-repairing and self-regenerating system. Given the right tools and environment, the body can heal itself. Perfect and miraculous!
Suffering ends where meaning begins.
Health is not merely the absence of disease, it’s a meaningful life experience. By turning towards our symptoms, we can gain powerful insights that lead to deeper root cause healing.
Hi, I’m Sara!
I guide and support mothers to restore their vitality and create healing for their families.
I have:
- A background as a nutritionist and mother – I know how it feels to juggle it all while raising a healthy family.
- Experience as a former elite-level athlete and sports/fitness instructor.
- Two homeschooled children…who eat their vegetables!
- Served thousands of whole food meals to my family…on planes, on hikes, and while living in multiple cultures.
- Restored my own, and my family’s vitality after surviving a hurricane and living the aftermath in our vehicle.
- Vibrant health again after a traumatic experience, years of chronic depression/anxiety, hormonal issues, PCOS, autoimmune disorder, and PTSD.
- Shifted from not being able to take care of my own children, to becoming a thriving homeschooling mompreneur again.
- Built several family-minded businesses where my husband and I can both work from home…and eat well, together.
- 15 years and thousands of meals of experience in healthy cooking, serving my family and nature camp guests…
- …and a heart for serving my community (you, my dear readers!)
To learn more about me, read my bio here.
