Island Waters Counseling

Trauma and Attachment Specialists

Perinatal Mental Health

Women’s Issues

EMDR Certified/IFS Informed

Hope, compassion, healing

Dr. Sarah Thiessen, Ph.D., LMHC, LCPC

Welcome

At Island Waters Counseling, therapy is a space to slow down, feel supported, and work through life’s harder moments. Whether you’re navigating trauma, anxiety, big life changes, or the emotional ups and downs of pregnancy and parenthood, you don’t have to do it alone. Our work together is collaborative, compassionate, and centered on what feels most helpful for you.

About Sarah

Dr. Sarah Thiessen is an EMDR Certified Therapist who specializes in treating trauma and PTSD, anxiety, and perinatal mental health issues such as birth trauma, loss, and infertility. She works with clients of all ages and brings a warm, grounded presence to therapy, creating a space where you can feel safe, understood, and genuinely cared for.

Therapy Approach

Sarah primarily uses EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) through an IFS-informed lens, while also incorporating tools from cognitive behavioral therapy. This means therapy isn’t just about talking things through — it’s about helping your nervous system process experiences so they don’t keep showing up in the present. Sessions are tailored to you, your pace, and what you’re ready to work on.

Perinatal Mental Health

Supporting individuals during pregnancy, postpartum, and the early parenting years is a core focus of Sarah’s work. She has specialized training in perinatal mental health and is approved to sit for the Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) in 2026. Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, or simply feeling overwhelmed by the transition into parenthood, you deserve support that truly understands this season of life.

Credentials & Availability

Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and is licensed in Florida, Maryland, and South Carolina. She offers telehealth services to residents of these states, making therapy accessible and flexible for your schedule.

Sarah feels deeply honored to walk alongside clients as they heal, grow, and reconnect with themselves.

Psychotherapy Services

Trauma Therapy

Sarah is certified in EMDR, a highly researched and supported therapy for trauma and PTSD. EMDR enables people to heal from symptoms and emotional pain and is also used to address multiple mental health issues. Using techniques that align with neuroscience, this therapy uses the body’s ability to heal often producing relief from many symptoms quickly. For children, Sarah integrates play techniques with EMDR because children heal through play and imagination. The effectiveness of EMDR results in clients who feel empowered rather than paralyzed by life experiences that in the past caused them great pain. EMDR does not require extensive homework or hours of talking about the pain to find relief. Simply said, talk therapy helps clients handle trauma symptoms but EMDR reduces emotional pain. Sarah blends this approach with Internal Family Systems, an approach created to help see behaviors that keep you from living the life you want in a non-stigmatizing way.

Children and Adolescents

Sarah has specialized training in both directive and non-directive play therapy, as well as sand tray and mindfulness-based techniques, allowing children to express themselves in ways that feel natural and safe. She earned her EMDR Child Specialist Certificate through the Agate Institute and believes deeply in the healing power of play as a pathway to emotional growth and resilience.

A key part of Sarah’s work includes partnering with parents and caregivers, helping them feel confident and supported as they nurture their children’s emotional well-being. Using Theraplay-informed approaches, she focuses on strengthening parent–child relationships — because parents truly know their children best. Sarah is especially passionate about supporting single parents and blended families, helping them understand family patterns, strengthen connections, and create healthier dynamics. She also emphasizes the importance of parental self-care, recognizing that caring for yourself is an essential part of caring for your family.

EMDR Intensives

EMDR Intensives can be a good fit for individuals who have experienced a recent traumatic event, or for those who feel ready to dive deeper and are looking for more progress than traditional weekly sessions may offer. Instead of spreading the work out over many weeks or months, intensives allow for focused, uninterrupted time dedicated to healing and processing.

Intensives may be scheduled as half-day or full-day sessions and can take place over one to three days, depending on your goals, history, and capacity. Before moving forward, a comprehensive assessment is completed to determine whether an EMDR intensive is the best fit for you, or if ongoing weekly therapy would better support your needs and nervous system.

If an intensive is right for you, you’ll be encouraged to intentionally set this time aside as a personal retreat for healing. Between EMDR processing sessions, space is built in for rest, grounding, and reflection — allowing your mind and body time to integrate the work. The Southwest Florida area offers many opportunities for peaceful rest and relaxation, making it easier to step away from daily demands and focus fully on yourself and your healing journey.

Relationships and Life Transitions

At different points in life, stress, relationship struggles, and big transitions can leave you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next step. Even when it feels like a daily battle, you don’t have to face it on your own. Counseling can be a place to reconnect with hope, gain clarity, and begin again with greater self-awareness and compassion. When you’ve been through trauma, even small things can feel exhausting or triggering, and it can seem like you’re constantly in survival mode and with lasting emotional wounds and feeling disconnected from yourself. You are not alone in this.

Sarah works with you to explore the connections between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, helping you gently face past experiences that may still be holding you back. Together, you’ll learn how to quiet the critical inner voice, challenge beliefs that no longer serve you, and create space for healthier patterns and new perspectives.

Perinatal Mental Health

We provide thoughtful, specialized support for individuals navigating the emotional challenges that can come with fertility struggles, pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. This includes experiences such as infertility, birth trauma, postpartum depression or anxiety, and perinatal loss. Therapy is tailored to your unique needs and experiences, using gentle, evidence-based approaches — including EMDR, CBT, and IFS-informed care — to support healing, connection, and emotional well-being at your own pace.