Sarah Kennedy, IMFT-S (OH), LMFT (PA)

Hi, I’m Sarah, a client centered and collaborative mental health therapist.

As a client centered and collaborative marriage and family therapist:

I empower your thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and needs, and believe you are the expert on you.

I approach our work together like a team.

I am trained to recognize and consider the impact that environments, relationships, and other systems have on how we feel, think, and relate. Whether I’m working with you individually or as a couple, I take the full picture into consideration in our work.

You have the freedom to create new ideas, perspectives & interactions that take the power from things that aren’t feeling good & empower what does feel good.

What can you expect if you work with me in individual or couples therapy?

You can expect me to be honest, authentic, transparent, collaborative, curious, and maybe even a little humorous. I bring my authentic self into my work with you, so that you can feel free to find and bring yours, too.

I want to provide a space for you to be fully accepted as you are, so that you can feel free to explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a way that allows for the discovery of new possibilities, perspectives or ideas.

I will be curious about your current life, as well as your history. I want to get to know how you understand yourself and the world around you, so that we can strengthen what’s working and shift what’s keeping you stuck.

This process tends to lead my clients to a better understanding of themselves and their relationships. They start to notice that through finding insight and making connections both in and outside of session, or by experiencing and letting go of stuck emotions and beliefs that haven’t been serving them, they begin to feel more secure in themselves and experience more enjoyment in life.

I believe that through our work together, you’ll land exactly where you want to be.

What is my background and training as a Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in couples therapy & trauma therapy?

I have had years of experience providing individual, couple, and family therapy in diverse settings, including community health centers, schools, mental health agencies, and group practice.

My development and grown as an individual & couples therapist has been consistently fueled by my passion for helping people and couples understand how their past impacts and informs their present, so that they can build stronger and more fulfilling relationships with their partners and themselves.

Throughout my career, I have committed myself to continual learning from various sources, including trainings in advanced treatment modalities, ongoing supervision and consultation, and forming strong connections & collaboration with other mental health professionals, so that I can best help the people I serve.

Interested in learning more?

See what services I offer in Philadelphia or Cincinnati, or reach out for a consultation call!

Visit my profiles on Therapy Den and Psychology Today.

Education and License Information:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: University of Connecticut – 2014

  • Bachelor of Arts in Human Development & Family Studies: University of Connecticut – 2014

  • Master of Arts in Human Development & Family Studies w/ a Concentration in Marriage & Family Therapy: University of Connecticut – 2016

  • Ohio Independent Marriage & Family Therapist w/ Training Supervision Designation: F.1800062-SUPV (Verify a license here)

  • Pennsylvania Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist: MF001300 (Verify a license here)

  • American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisor

Relevant Advanced Trainings:

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy – evidence-based treatment approach utilized in individual therapy, and for trauma therapy

  • Currently working towards EMDR Certification, in addition to IFS (Internal Family Systems) informed EMDR training

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship – evidence-based treatment approach utilized in couples therapy

Why do I love my work as a mental health therapist?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: starting therapy can be vulnerable and opening up to a therapist can be hard. I respect that, and I respect you. I don’t take it lightly that I’m invited into my clients’ lives and relationships in such a unique way, and that’s part of the reason I love the work that I do.

This is going to sound a bit corny, but my favorite part about doing this work with my clients is when they discover the parts of themselves or their relationships that they’ve been desperately searching for. Whether it’s small shifts over time, one specific moment in session, or somewhere in between, that recognition of change is powerful to see in my clients.

Maybe they start noticing that the connections they’re making in session are causing them to feel more secure in their ability to set boundaries in their life, which is making them feel less anxious. They’re connecting the dots and noticing that they’re feeling happier, more in control, more connected, more secure. Or maybe it’s the moment in session where they notice that they’ve finally allowed themselves the space to really feel, and the fear that they would lose control didn’t actually come to fruition.

These are the powerful changes that make me cherish the work that I do with my clients. It never ceases to amaze me the capacity that each person I work with has to find the truest version of the life they want to have. I’d be honored to find that with you, too!

Client Centered Therapy with a Mental Health Therapist in Cincinnati and Philadelphia

Clarity Together offers EMDR therapy, relationship counseling, trauma therapy, and more in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and across the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania via a HIPAA compliant, secure, telehealth platform.