My Story

"Hello! My name is Sarah Durrance. I am a board-certified associate licensed professional counselor. Throughout my education and life experiences, I have uncovered my passion to enter into other people’s stories and walk with them towards healing, growth, and transformation. My time working in a wilderness therapy program with teenagers confirmed my desire to pursue a full-time career in clinical mental health counseling. I feel humbled daily to witness individuals showing up with bravery and vulnerability in the counseling room. As someone who is on her own journey of emotional healing, I am encouraged by watching my clients find freedom from the harmful messages they have believed throughout their lives."

How I work

“I’m not good enough." “I am a failure.” “I’m too much.” “I will always be this way.” “I have to be perfect.”

These are the beliefs many of my clients have when they enter therapy. I see these beliefs at the root of issues like anxiety, OCD, disordered eating/poor body image, relationship conflict, self-worth struggles, and spiritual harm. In our time together, my hope is to help you understand what harmful beliefs (literal neural networks in your brain) have shaped your view of yourself and what behaviors have come from these beliefs. I will not be the therapist who says “that’s not true” and “don’t think that.” Instead, I will enter into that hurt with you. Alongside you, we will seek to understand where it came from, grieve the wound, and then when the time is right, we will move toward healing.

Though I work extensively with behavior modification, I find that if we solely focus on the behavior, it will not be changed. Thus, we must first direct our attention to the deeper internal core beliefs, and then move towards the external behaviors.

Because the stories we tell ourselves become the reality that we live in, our internal shame-driven narratives must be brought to light. You will often hear me inviting you to take a stance of “compassion and curiosity” towards yourself. This is because we simply cannot shame ourselves into changing. Shame is often hidden in our battles with emotional regulation, past trauma, anxiety, physical pain, depression, etc. Releasing shame is research-proven to bring relief to the mind and body.

I also find power in incorporating somatic exercises to further integrate the mind-body connection, as it is one thing to know something in our head but another to “wire” it into our nervous system.

I am honored to witness individuals leave feeling empowered to go out into the world and apply the discoveries we have found in our time together.

About Sarah

When I am not counseling, I love yoga and movement, playing with my dog Abbey, listening to an audiobook, trying a new recipe, traveling with my husband, reading a novel, and spending time in nature. I am an avid learner and enjoy reading books or listening to podcasts related to helping myself and my clients grow toward wholeness. While I love and cherish social connection, there’s nothing like sitting at home with a cup of coffee and a novel (...or maybe binge-watching Survivor). My clients know that I love incorporating some of my passions through practices like breathwork, watercolors, jewelry making, poetry/writing, and walking outside during sessions. In my personal life, I seek to practice the art of “being” instead of just “doing” like our world so often emphasizes. While I am not an expert in this area yet, I find comfort in noticing the beauty around me, pausing to reflect on where God is showing up in my life, and seeking to live a less hurried and rushed lifestyle.

Sarah’s session fee is $125 per 50-minute session or $65 per 30-minute session with a sliding scale option.

{Currently offering in person or virtual sessions}

Who I Help:

• Adolescents

• Kids

• Adults

I Specialize In:

• Anxiety

• Self-Worth

• Shame

• Attachment Wounds

• Relationship Difficulties

• Spirituality

• Eating disorders

How I Work:

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy [CBT]

• Compassion Focused Therapy [CFT]

• Experiential Therapy/Somatic Therapy

• Attachment-Focused Therapy

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy [DBT]

My Education + Certification:

• B.S. from the University of Georgia in Human Development and Family Sciences

• Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Richmont Graduate University

Sarah’s Favorite Resources