Therapists in Portsmouth, OH

Ms. Sara Bates is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with Supervision Designation trained in Trauma-Informed Care for All, Family Therapy, Perinatal Therapy, Sex-Positive Therapy, Pleasure Education and Intimacy Coaching, Couples Counseling, CBT, DBT, and IFS; treating both adolescents and adult populations.  Her clinical approach is to meet the clients where they are, by building on personal strengths and supporting them through life’s difficult challenges. She provides EAP services as a contractor, for local and federal law enforcement agencies. Reiki Master/Teacher certified, for stress relief practices and coping strategies.

The Counseling Center of Southwest Ohio is proud to serve a wide range of areas across our great state, including the Greater Cincinnati Area. We specialize in providing timely and effective help for depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and trauma. We are dedicated to helping you reach your goals, whatever they may be. We believe the key to personal transformation resides in understanding your personal journey so far and identifying the experiences that have shaped you. Our empathetic professionals will offer a listening ear, compassionate support, and targeted strategies to help you craft a new path forward.

Immediate openings available! As a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), I have experience working with a wide variety of couples and individuals (18+). I draw on a range of approaches, including EFT, CBT, and The Gottman Method. I welcome couples interested in pre-marital counseling; those struggling with communication issues; and those coping with infidelity, addiction, co-parenting, and family-blending. I also serve individual clients (18+) dealing with relationship issues, anxiety, depression, grief, and other life changes. I have a special interest in working with military clients and families.

No matter the circumstances, the facts remain the same: our bodies are designed to keep us safe and reduce discomfort. Issues arise when we are no longer needing to seek safety yet unknowingly maintain these unhelpful patterns of beliefs and behaviors. Our unconscious attempts to insulate ourselves from harm turn into patterns that destroy the connections to ourselves and others that we desire most. My goal is to provide a therapeutic relationship for clients as they gain understanding and develop new beliefs and behaviors to transform their lives, reach their goals and have the relationships they ultimately desire.