I help my clients get out of pain.
By the time people find me, they've usually tried a lot of things to get out of pain, and they’re still not improving.
If that's you, chances are, you're not doing it wrong.
Nothing works for everyone, but everything works for someone. This work is about finding what works for you.
“Working with Sara was utterly life-changing. I completely reshaped my relationship to my pain and developed ways to experience more joy and pleasure.”
KN · graduated client, 2025
How I got here
I'm a medical sociologist with a PhD from UCSF, where my research focused on neuroscience and pain, specifically why standard treatments fail and what actually works.
Before and during all of that, I spent twelve years as a clinical bodyworker, working with people living with severe chronic pain.
I also had my own chronic pain, and found resolution for it after ten years of trying everything and remaining stuck.
I’ve been working with people in pain for over twenty years. Through that time, I’ve learned that there's no single path out of pain. Finding yours is what we do together.
Read & Listen
If you want a sense of how I think about pain, this is where to start.
Living with the human experience of pain (31 minutes).
Open water swimming and pain (18 minutes).
“No one ever pointed me to the simple concepts and ways to think about my pain the way Sara did. She brings what no physician ever did for me. I no longer find myself lying on the floor, trying not to cry.”
LA · graduated client, 2024
What this work actually is
Pain runs through three systems at once: the body, the emotions, and the life around you. Most treatments work on one system and ignore the other two.
I'm not an expert in any one tool for resolving pain. I'm an expert in how those tools came to be, how they interact, and how they fail. My job is to figure out which tools will work for you and help you learn how to use them so you can eventually get yourself out of pain.
We do this in conversation, over Zoom, in close one-on-one sessions. There's no substitute for sustained time with someone who understands the pain landscape, who's paying attention, and who has seen it all (really).
This is intentionally not a long-term program. You leave with what you need to keep going without me.
“One of the things I appreciated most was the exercises. We practiced them together during our sessions, which made it easier to integrate them into my daily life. Sara's thoughtful guidance made a meaningful difference in how I relate to my pain and to myself.”
KM · graduated client, 2025
Pain Flare-Up Reset
3-Minute
If you're hurting right now, start here. This short practice helps interrupt the nervous system's alarm state.
“I have found my medical care to be very siloed; the goal of each of my many doctors is to identify what is wrong and then fix it. Sara's approach is completely different. Thanks to her guidance, I've been able to digest a vast array of specialist opinions and make choices about my medical care that feel right for my goals and values.”
Graduated Client, 2024