Sarah Merry
Licensed Professional Counselor, EMDR Trained
The Motivation
Being human is hard. Life can be messy, complicated, and overwhelming. Trauma and distressing life experiences can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves and those around us. As a therapist, my motivation lies in fostering connections. Authentic relationships, community, and meaningful work are all essential pieces of a joyful and fulfilled life. Therapy is an amazing way to reconnect with yourself and start meeting these vital needs.
The Details
When you go to therapy, you are investing your most valuable, non-renewable resource - time. To honor that investment, I use evidenced-based and effective therapy modalities to help you explore the memories that hurt and are keeping us stuck in a state of overwhelm or distress. While I am a strong believer in the power of therapy, I also know it can feeI very uncomfortable to start. I will welcome you each session with warmth and a nurturing environment to support and empower you on your journey towards healing.
I earned my Master's Degree in Rehabilitation and Counselor Education from the University of Iowa. With my background in K-12 and higher education, I will bring curiosity and compassion to our therapeutic relationship. While I am midwestern at heart, Grand Junction is my home. I love exploring nature with my husband and dog. I like to dance awkwardly and enthusiastically with friends. I am often curled up on my couch with a fantasy book and a cup of tea. My favorite moments are when I'm lost in conversation with another human, which is one of the many reasons I love being a therapist.
Investment
Individual Counseling 55 minutes……$130
Couples Counseling 55 minutes…….$150
Family Counseling 55 minutes…….$175
My Specialties
Individuals Who Have Experienced Trauma
If you've experienced overwhelming, traumatic, or distressing events, you may notice concerning behaviors or patterns that keep you from moving forward in your personal and professional life. You want to grow but feel lost in how to navigate processing your trauma and symptoms. You don't have to continue to hurt. Healing is possible. I'm here to support you on your unique journey towards wellness.
Pregnancy, Post-partum, and Parenthood
The physical and emotional changes during pregnancy and post-partum, as well as the constantly changing landscape of caregiving children, can be incredibly challenging. You may have mixed feelings about your new identity as a parent or caregiver. You may be struggling with anxiety, depression, perfectionism, guilt, and/or shame. You are not alone in these experiences. I see you. Through our therapeutic relationship, I'd love to help you navigate each new season with compassion and care.
Couples Navigating Parenthood
When you welcome a new little or big one to your family, life transforms in beautiful and hard ways. Every human and creature in your home must adjust as you figure out new systems and ways of existing together. While some aspects of this change may go smoothly, there are often many challenges. If you and your partner find yourselves struggling to connect, feeling burnt out from the time and energy required for caregiving, fighting about parenting decisions, or just needing some relationship revival, I'm here to help.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is an evidence-based and powerful therapy to process traumatic or distressing life experiences and their impact on our lives. It has been proven effective for treating trauma, PTSD, addiction, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, and more. EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model that proposes overwhelming, traumatic, or distressing experiences can get "stuck" in our brains, leading to psychological and physical symptoms. EMDR follows an eight-phase therapeutic approach to identify and target these stuck memories and reprocess them so that the symptoms related to the experience dissipates. You don't have to continue to hurt. Relief is possible. EMDR will support your unique journey towards healing and wellness.
