About Sara

Hello, I’m Sara! (she/they)

I believe the relationship we have with ourselves greatly impacts how we experience everything else.

I specialize in working with neurodivergent, highly sensitive, and queer adults navigating complex trauma, shame, burnout, executive dysfunction, anxiety, relationships, and major life changes. I’m especially passionate about helping people let go of what they no longer want to carry and expand into something greater—a life that feels more authentic, fulfilling, and aligned with who they are.

As a queer, ADHD, highly sensitive person (HSP) myself, I understand how difficult it can be to feel at home in yourself when you’ve spent years adapting, overriding your needs, or feeling like you’re too much or not enough. I bring both personal understanding and professional training to creating a space where you can reconnect with yourself and explore what’s possible beyond those old patterns.

My approach is warm, collaborative, and practical, drawing from Internal Family Systems (IFS), the Flash Technique, somatic embodiment, and nervous system regulation. I’m Level 1 trained in IFS and trained in the Flash Technique. Together, we can process what’s been holding you back, reconnect with yourself and your body, and build greater self-trust, self-compassion, and self-acceptance.

You don’t need to become someone else to build a life that works for you.

Sara Godinez, IFS Therapist, Neurodivergent Therapist, Trauma Therapist | Online Therapist in Washington State

My Approach

My approach is warm, collaborative, and practical. I don’t believe therapy is about fixing you—because you’re not broken. Instead, I see therapy as a space to slow down, get curious, and reconnect with the wisdom and healing capacity that already exists within you.

I draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic embodiment, nervous system regulation, and the Flash Technique to help you explore what’s underneath your patterns, process what’s been holding you back, and reconnect with yourself and your body. I am Level 1 trained in IFS and trained in the Flash Technique.

I’ll adapt our work to what feels most supportive and useful for you, rather than expecting you to fit into a particular therapeutic approach. My role is not to tell you what you need, but to support your own inner healing power and wisdom as you build greater self-trust, self-compassion, self-acceptance, and internal harmony.

Sometimes that means holding space for whatever needs to be expressed; other times, it’s problem-solving or gently revisiting the past at a pace that feels right for you.

Through the trust we build, you’ll get to experience what it’s like to receive unconditional support—one that honors your humanity, your agency, and all of who you are.

My Guiding Intentions at Solace in Self Therapy

I started Solace in Self Therapy to create the kind of space I believe people deserve when they are doing the deeply vulnerable work of therapy: a space where they can feel warmly and unconditionally supported as they slow down, turn inward, get curious about themselves, and begin to release the shame they’ve been carrying.

I believe that meaningful, lasting change doesn’t come from someone else telling us who to be or how to live. It comes from developing a deeper relationship with ourselves and learning to access the wisdom, resilience, and capacity for healing that already exists within us.

My role as a therapist is not to be the expert on your life. I see myself as a supporter, facilitator, and collaborator — someone who can offer perspective, ask thoughtful questions, help make sense of what you’re experiencing, and provide a steady, compassionate presence as you find your own way forward.

My hope is that therapy becomes more than a place to feel better in the moment; it becomes a process of creating changes that feel deeply rooted, authentic, and sustainable because they come from within you. I’ll be there to support you, celebrate your growth, and cheer you on along the way.

My Positionality & Values

Positionality (n): where one is located in relation to their various social identities (gender, race, class, ethnicity, ability, geographical location, etc.)

As a non-binary, queer, neurodiverse person of color and settler of color on unceded lands, my practice is shaped by lived experience, grassroots organizing, and a commitment to anti-oppressive and decolonial ways of being. I believe therapy should never place the burden of systemic harm on the individual—because so much of what we struggle with is shaped by the world around us. Together, we can explore what belongs to you, what has been placed upon you, and what is truly within your control.

I believe we can hold ourselves and one another accountable while also holding systems accountable for the harm they perpetuate. Therapy can be a place to make room for both healing and resistance—to cultivate peace, grace, and love within yourself while recognizing that the world often teaches us self-doubt, shame, and disconnection.

You are the leader in this process. I’m here to honor your experiences, trust your wisdom, and support you in finding greater freedom, authenticity, and connection with yourself and the world around you.

Trainings & Education

  • Washington State - Licensed Independent Clinical Social Work Associate (#61620784)

    Oregon - Clinical Social Work Associate (#A14604)

    Supervised by Ariana Lloyd (WA-LICSW: L60908173)

    • ADHD Certification: Supporting Neurodiverse Clients

    • ADHD Assessment for Adults: Overcome Treatment Obstacles, Identify Co-Morbidities & Resolve Diagnostic Dilemmas

    • The Art of Negotiation in IFS Sessions: Challenging Protectors and Workable Agreements

    • Demystifying Self-as-Context in ACT

    • Integrating the Internal Family Systems Model Across Clinical Applications

    • Internal Family Systems Therapy - Level 1

    • The Flash Technique for Trauma Processing

    • Helping Clients with Trauma-Related Dysregulation

    • Minimizing Uncertainty: How IFS Helps Autistics Thrive

    • Stuck in Survival: Somatic Experiments Towards Embodied Safeness

    • Solution Focused Brief Therapy

    • The Art of Negotiation in IFS Sessions: Challenging Protectors and Workable Agreements

    • The Others Within Us: Unattached Burdens and Guides in IFS Therapy

    • Working With Core Beliefs of ‘Never Good Enough’

    • Master of Social Work

      • California State University, Dominguez Hills

    • Master of Arts Latin American Studies

      • California State University, Los Angeles

    • Bachelor of Arts History + Minor in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

      • California State University, Los Angeles