SARAH DOUGANS, MSW, LICSW
I meet people where they are and walk with them toward where they want to be. I'm especially interested in how life experiences shape us and how that shows up in our relationships, careers, and everyday sense of self.
As a therapist in Washington, DC, I work with individuals seeking a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationships, and their careers, while building real strategies to manage stress, anxiety, and maternal mental health and postpartum challenges. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT and ACT, I help clients move from feeling stuck to feeling grounded, confident, and more like themselves.
I have over fifteen years of experience in the mental health field, providing psychotherapy to hundreds of clients navigating anxiety, career stress and burnout, perfectionism, relationship difficulties, postpartum depression and anxiety, and the challenge of balancing personal and professional life. I've completed training in a range of evidence-based treatments, including CBT and ACT, and am committed to continually growing my clinical skills through ongoing professional development.
Most recently, I worked as a psychotherapist at the Sibley Group, a prominent group private practice in Northwest DC, where I specialized in anxiety, life transitions, maternal mental health, and parenting. My clients were largely high-achieving professionals and students.
Earlier in my career, I worked in an outpatient clinic at a large psychiatric hospital, in a residential mental health treatment program, and in outpatient therapy programs at nonprofits. I also worked at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I ran a nonprofit executive coaching program and supported executives and graduate students with career exploration, career identity, and career advancement.
My Experience
CREDENTIALS & TRAINING
License
LICSW, Washington, DC (license # LC50082695)
Education
Master of Social Work, University of Toronto
Bachelor of Arts, Dalhousie University
Advanced Training
Industrial-Organizational Psychology Graduate Coursework - Harvard University, Boston, MA
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy- comprehensive multi-day training with Dr. Steven Hayes and others, Washington, DC
Internal Family Systems Foundations Program (6 month program), PESI Institute, United States
Yearlong training in Reproductive Psychology, Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington, Washington, DC
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Seleni Institute, New York City
Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Perinatal Distress, Ruthie Arbitt & Associates - Washington, DC
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, The Beck Institute, PA
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina
Multi-Systemic Family Therapy Post-Graduate Training, Toronto, Canada
Graduate fellowship, Borderline Personality Disorder Clinic, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Graduate fellowship, Inpatient Pediatrics, Family Therapy and Complex Care, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada