Sara Skowronski M.A., LPC, ATR-BC, CAGS

Sara Skowronski is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Art Therapist who recognizes the true flow of life through experiencing success. Sara facilitates a rejuvenative process through a resource-based therapeutic approach. Sara helps her clients identify and shape the resources that an individual, couple, or family already have. Together, we are able to re-do a problem: turn a problem into a challenge, and then turn that challenge into an accomplishment. Sara is patient and dedicated to her client's well-being.

Sara brings a multitude of strategies with her into your sessions. As a clinical and marriage and family counselor she is well versed in the techniques of talk therapy. Additionally, as an art therapist she has the tools necessary for finding alternative ways to get to the heart of the matter when words either get in the way or when, sometimes, the words are just not there. Sometimes the healing process can be rocky, as it may require a person to step into an unknown way of being or behaving, and Sara is there with the belief and confidence that therapy works and that healing is possible.

In addition to working with individuals, Sara works with couples, families, children, and adolescents to help them create a new and desired way of living. Together, with Sara's enthusiasm, faith, and expertise, you will find your way through your pain and create the beauty that growth inspires. Soon, joy can be experienced and shared by you and your significant others.

Sara has lived and studied in various countries around the world and draws upon a sense of togetherness. We are not alone in our pain and challenges. Everyone faces hurdles and there are many different techniques for healing. Finding the right therapist to sit beside you and listen carefully to your voice and your dreams for a better tomorrow is imperative.

Sara has a quick mind and a vast intellectual grasp of the field of psychology combined with a strong commitment, openness, and enthusiasm for helping people grow and heal. She has a deep and ongoing interest in her own growth and development, and models that for others. Sara's authenticity allows others to discover sides of themselves they did not know or, perhaps, had forgotten. She has a laid-back style that creates a comfortable and accepting atmosphere.

At Foundations Counseling,  Sara Skowronski sees clients who seek counseling for a wide array of reasons, including:

• Relationship and family dynamics — couples, partners, and marriage counseling, unresolved conflict, intimacy and attachment issues, divorce recovery, affair recovery, couples communication skills, women's issues, family relational issues, family members of those coping with mental health or substance abuse concerns
• Mental health counseling — anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, obesity and weight loss, self-esteem issues, stress management, sleep disorders, trauma and abuse recovery, PTSD, child mental health issues, adjustment issues
• Life transitions — career counseling, grief and loss issues, family/relationship role issues, spirituality and religious issues, meaning-in-life concerns, growth/change resistance
• Health and wellness — weight gain/obesity, weight loss, self-esteem issues, self-confidence issues, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction recovery, stress-reduction, motivational complications
• Growing through life changes and transitions — grief and loss, infertility, prenatal and perinatal loss, life transitions, career challenges and changes, finding hope and meaning, spirituality and faith

Sara received her Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and Art Therapy from Southwestern College in Santa Fe, NM, and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from American University. She has also received a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Expressive Arts in Saas Fee, Switzerland at the European Graduate School, Arts, Health, and Society Division, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Sara has spent time working with professionals and their families in the Washington D.C., Northern Virginia, and New Mexico areas, where she provided therapy to individuals and couples who were suffering from substance abuse, addiction, and trauma recovery issues. She has also worked with adolescents and children in a private practice setting where the client's voice and knowledge is honored and held with the utmost respect. Sara has designed and implemented art therapy mental health programs for adolescents in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, and art therapy and spirituality programs at Sagebrush Treatment Center in Great Falls Virginia.

Sara's background in Counseling and the Expressive Arts Therapies gives her a unique and uplifting way of working with individuals, families and communities. Her work has been featured in numerous newspaper articles, exhibited in el Museo de Cultural, in and around Santa Fe, NM, Maui, Hawaii, the Washington D.C. Metro area, and Lima, Peru.

Sara is also certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an approved provider for continuing education trainings specifically designed for professional mental health practitioners, school counselors, family therapists, psychologists, and social workers. Sara is committed to her work as a therapist promoting a sense of usefulness and self-confidence.

• American Art Therapy Association (AATA)
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
• American Counseling Association (ACA)
• American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)
• Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)
• Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW)
• Colorado Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT)
• Colorado Association of Psychotherapists (CAP)
• International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAAOC)
• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA)
• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)