Sarah Bristol
Associate Therapist
AMFT #140419
With a diverse background spanning special education, eating disorders, and mental health, I've developed a holistic approach to therapy that addresses the whole person. My experience includes supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, as well as treating various eating disorders across multiple treatment settings. Recognizing the need for comprehensive care, I've expanded my expertise to include substance use disorders, conducting award-winning research on co-occurring eating and substance use disorders. As a Clinical Fellow at USC's Keck School of Medicine, I've mentored future psychologists and social workers. Trained in various therapeutic modalities, I provide a trauma-informed, LGBTQIA+ affirming space, utilizing harm reduction and Health at Every Size approaches. My passion lies in helping clients achieve sustainable recovery, believing that everyone can be recovered.
Sarah works with, Children, Teens, and Adults. Working with individuals twelve years of age and over. Sarah is comfortable working with clients in recovery after treatment for eating disorders and substance abuse.
She specializes in Eating Disorders, Substance Abuse, Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, and CPT for Trauma.
Sarah graduated with a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California and currently offers telehealth services in California.
A piece of advice I often find myself offering to clients or potential clients is…
I think it can be helpful to remember that therapy is a place where you can be brutally honest (with yourself and me) and express those thoughts in a judgement free zone. I would encourage all of my clients to give themselves permission to be fully authentic in therapy, knowing that you are accepted as you are. It also substantially increases my ability to support you when I have the full picture of what's going on for you internally and externally.
One thing I do in my free time to recharge or nourish my own mental health?
I am an avid reader and typically read about two books per week. I love romance, mystery, science-fiction, and self-help books. When I am not working or spending time with loved ones, you can catch me curled up with the latest find, immersed in another world. I love talking with others about books and always have a good book recommendation, whether therapeutically-oriented or just for fun.
One of the therapeutic approaches I find particularly effective is…
I am a big proponent of Internal Family Systems and I love doing inner child work with my clients. I have found it incredibly powerful, professionally and personally, to connect how our current strife is rooted in old patterns and experiences that are still impacting us. This then allows us to revisit these formative moments, provide compassion to our inner child, and befriend the part of us that is being activated. From there, clients can then begin to reparent from the inside out and provide themselves with the support that they have been needing all along.
One lesson that I have learned in therapy that I’ve applied to my own life is…
To focus on progress, not perfection. Mental health recovery can be a long and slow journey as we navigate unpacking the past with exploring the present and preparing for the future. Some weeks we will see big strides and can reflect on the successes and other weeks we will need to process the difficulties that arose - both are necessary for growth! Healing is not a linear process so there are going to be bumps in the road, but the goal is to make sustainable changes that have a lasting impact.
Some of my personal values that are essential to my work as a therapist are…
Humor, collaboration, honesty, and advocacy. Therapy doesn't always have to be so serious! I love having playful conversations with my clients where we can swap jokes and talk about our recent favorite movies/TV/music. Studies also show that it helps clients to feel more comfortable sharing about the difficult topics and make progress in therapy when we have a good rapport built. Therefore, I also strive to make therapy a collaborative environment where I am not only in a team with your other providers, but also with you. This is your treatment and I always want my clients to tell me where they want to go in their mental health journey and how they want to get there. This is helped along by being honest with me as the therapist about how you are doing and I am happy to give gentle but direct feedback on areas of growth if requested. Lastly, I am here to be your biggest advocate. Whether that means helping you to set boundaries with yourself or others or advocating on your behalf to external parties, I am always on your side.
I offer individualized services tailored to assist clients with Eating Disorder Recovery
Learn more about the add on services I offer here