About Sarah
Sarah Axley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, depression, and changes in life. She focuses on practical steps that parents and adults can use to feel steadier day to day. Her style is collaborative and straightforward, aimed at building useful skills and clearer thinking.
Sarah trained at Virginia Commonwealth University and earned a Master of Social Work. She also completed a post-baccalaureate certificate in aging studies.
How Sarah works
She has provided psychotherapy since 2009 across outpatient clinics, community-based programs, and hospital settings, and has worked with many different concerns and diagnoses. Her approach blends client-centered methods, cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and narrative work. Sessions focus on practical strategies - changing unhelpful thoughts, building coping skills, and improving communication.
Homework and in-between tasks are commonly used to turn session insights into daily habits. Sarah has experience supporting people through grief and loss, addiction, chronic illness, caregiver stress, and challenges related to aging and intellectual disability. She is LGBTQ+ informed and has helped clients manage stress from social and political change, including pandemic-related pressures.
Clients can expect a strengths-based stance that emphasizes resilience and skill building. Sarah combines clear, everyday language with evidence-informed techniques to help people set and reach concrete goals.
Sarah lists 6 ways of working on the entry:
What Sarah works with
The areas below are the ones Sarah selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 15 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Virginia |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Sarah’s Methods Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person’s goals. In practice this means sessions follow the client’s pace and priorities, which helps with motivation and building trust. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts and behaviors that fuel problems and teaches practical skills to change them; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and sleep troubles. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce rumination and improve emotional regulation, which often helps with stress and coping.Finding the right approach is a joint process. Sarah works with each person to identify goals and then suggests methods that fit their needs and preferences. She will adjust techniques over time so the work stays relevant and effective for you.
Online formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Video calls let people see facial cues and do deeper skill practice. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging provide ongoing support between sessions and make it simpler to journal progress or ask quick questions. These options increase flexibility while keeping the focus on practical tools and steady progress.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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