Sara Dabney, LCSW

Sara Dabney is an LCSW who centers practical approaches for people facing relationship challenges and everyday stress. She blends straightforward talk with exercises you can use between sessions. Sessions focus on what matters now and what steps feel doable for each person.

Sara trained at the University of South Florida where she earned a Master of Social Work degree. Her graduate work included Title IV funding for an emphasis in child maltreatment and research on HIV and PTSD symptom patterns. Before social work she taught yoga and holds a massage therapy license earned in 2014.

In sessions she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness skills to help people notice how their thoughts and behaviors interact. She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and client-centered approaches to help people clarify values and build habits that match those values. Dialectical behavior therapy skills and motivational interviewing are other tools she may offer when useful.

Sara works with a broad range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, body image and intimacy-related issues. She also supports people facing parenting strain, adoption and foster care matters, chronic illness or caregiver stress, and challenges around communication and relationships.

Her style is practical and person-focused. She invites collaboration and clear goals so people leave sessions with a plan they can try between meetings. Sessions are offered in English and Sara practices in Florida as an LCSW.

How her approaches fit into online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice what matters to them and take small steps that match those values. It is often used for anxiety, depression, grief and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings and actions and gives concrete strategies to test and change patterns that cause distress. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and increase calm in stressful moments.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, preferences and daily routine. This is a shared process with room to try things and adjust based on what helps.

Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. In general online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow brief check-ins when a longer visit is difficult. Some approaches lend themselves to homework and brief between-session practice, which can be easier to maintain when sessions are scheduled around everyday obligations.