I’m Dr. Sara Aslan, PhD,
I am a licensed Psychologist, I have been providing therapeutic services for individuals, couples, and families since 2010. I am currently providing in-person and virtual sessions to adults and adolescents residing in Oregon and Washington, and virtual sessions to those residing in PSYPACT States.
I began working with individuals struggling with Eating Disorders in 2010. Upon completion of a Master’s Degree from the University of San Francisco, I was a therapist at an outpatient eating disorder treatment center, provided therapy at a nonprofit offering services to those struggling with eating disorders, and started a private practice.
I quickly realized that I was also seeing experiences of trauma interfere with my client’s healing processes, and knew learning to adequately treat trauma was something that was imperative to the overall wellbeing of my clients. I also knew that in order to grow as a therapist I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone, and learn more about the human experience in a completely different environment.
For these reasons, I began to take part in international research, in Western Samoa and Thailand; and chose to work on my PhD in Kansas City, under an advisor with a background in trauma and disordered eating. During this process I was able to continue my work with eating disorders, both in research and clinical practice; and I was also able to start my work in helping individuals heal from trauma.
In 2015, I began providing trauma treatment in individual and group settings, while working in the residential unit of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. I was also able to gain ample experience in Neuropsychological Testing and Assessment. Over this year, I received in-depth training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and knew I wanted more training in other trauma modalities.
In 2018, I was fortunate enough to complete my pre-doctoral internship at the Colmery-O'Neil Veterans Affairs Medical Center, work with their Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team, and train in their residential Stress Disorder Treatment Program. Here I was able to receive training in Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), and provide PE and CPT in both individual and group settings.
Upon completion of my PhD, I served as the Clinical Director of an outpatient eating disorder treatment center in Portland, Oregon. Again, I wanted to push myself as a clinician and felt it necessary to round off my training and work in an inpatient unit at the Portland VA Medical Center. I take pride in the work I do, the care I give to my clients, and utilize the extensive training I have received in order to help my clients live free from whatever pain they are experiencing. Like the meaning of the clove, I too want my clients to live with dignity, heal pain, and hold the ability to withstand the troubles they face.
My Approach
In the therapeutic relationship, I believe it is extremely important to take the whole person into account. As individuals are diverse and unique, so should be the therapeutic process. I take a nonjudgmental stance, while pulling from various treatment modalities to create a collaborative healing environment. I weave in elements of CBT, ACT, DBT, and Mindfulness; all while operating under respect for diversity related issues and, if necessary, utilizing a trauma informed lens. If the decision is to move forward with completing a trauma protocol, we can use CPT and PE in the therapeutic process.
Dream it
Together we can assess where growth can happen and formulate a plan. I believe therapy should be a dynamic process, one where you have support and the push you need to build upon your own strengths; they are in there! Lets tackle the hard stuff together, we can only truly get through difficulties by facing them. First we dream it, then lets do it!
Build it
There are many ways that people cope, and these may not be serving you anymore. You don’t have to do all the hard work alone, and can live the life you dream about. Take the step forward and lets move at your pace, there is immense bravery in pushing yourself out of your comfort zones.