Welcome, I am Sarah Hellman. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who serves a diverse population of clients within the Bay Area. I earned my Masters in Counseling Psychology with a Somatic Emphasis from California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

Like all people, movement was my first language. As a child, I was always on the move. I participated in gymnastics, dance, every sport imaginable, and yoga. While stillness and structure were not my forté, yoga provided me a sense of calm and steadiness. My early exposure to these practices gave me a sense of the power of uniting movement and breath to unlock the natural tendency of the body towards balance.

My therapy experience includes a work study program with Esalen Institute, where I was exposed to several somatic practices including Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Soul Motion and 5-Rhythms conscious dance. While living at Esalen, I also studied Gestalt Therapy, Shamanism, and Ayurvedic Medicine. At Esalen, I experienced the personal benefits of therapy mixed with movement and spiritual practices.

In 2009, I completed a 200 + hour trauma-informed yoga teacher training through Off the Mat into the World and Yandara Yoga Institute, and I began offering yoga in group homes and community-based settings. Today, my yoga practice provides me with many tools to navigate my own life, and I incorporate yogic principles into my therapeutic work with clients. I use many somatic based tools in my practice to integrate body awareness and movement as an essential form of therapy and healing. I am a student of life. I am curious and passionate about understanding self and others. As such, I continue to expand my knowledge about the body, movement, trauma, the psyche, and healing.

For my Masters in Counseling Psychology from CIIS, I studied clinical approaches to transform cycles of trauma both on an individual, familial/intergenerational, and societal level. As part of my graduate training, I worked at the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy where I enjoyed working with clients from a variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, presenting with problems including trauma, sexual abuse, depression, anxiety, grief/loss, anger, chronic stress, gender identity, and drug/ alcohol dependency.

I have worked at Fred Finch Youth Center, a Community based Mental Health agency, since 2014 as a Mental Health Therapist in the Visiting Therapist Program. At Fred Finch, I provide long-term, attachment based, trauma-informed therapy to families and youth, ranging in age from 3-21 years old.

In 2018, I completed the Therapy in Motion Open Floor training. Therapy in Motion is a dynamic approach that integrates psychological theory with movement therapy.

In 2020, Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the US, I went to Bali to study dance and embodiment and to further learn how to facilitate individual and group journeys through movement. I have studied ways to facilitate liberation through movement, guiding participants to follow natural impulses and get in deeper contact with their emotions, pleasure, power, and vitality.

I am currently participating in a 9-month nature immersion program through Mountain Soul Adventures. I am part of a cohort that meets quarterly at diverse ecosystems in Northern California to mark the passing of the solar year and seasons. Elements of the program include: honoring ancestral lineage, plant and animal study, developing earth skills and earth based ceremonies, backpacking skills, community building, grief rituals, and tending to a central intention/prayer.