Sarah Van Munster, LMHC

HR & Operations Coordinator & Staff Therapist

Training: Sarah earned her B.A. in English Literature and Psychology at the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2010. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Education from Nazareth College in 2012, and a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from St. John Fisher College in 2021. For Sarah’s graduate counseling internship, she worked as a family-based treatment counselor at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in General Pediatrics.

Clinical Expertise: As a mental health counselor, Sarah offers evidence-based treatments including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). She has also been trained in Narrative Therapy and Motivational Interviewing to help clients establish new behaviors based on their personal strengths and values. At GVP, Sarah specializes in treating clients with Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BRFBs, skin picking, hair pulling), panic, anxiety, depression, and trauma, CBT for anxiety and depression, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Approach: Sarah emphasizes treating the whole client. This involves holding up and integrating all parts of their unique, intersecting identities. Sarah believes in establishing a healthy therapeutic relationship built on compassion and empathy, striving to promote a space for clients to explore and identify areas for growth. She teaches and supports the development of effective coping skills including emotion regulation, mindfulness, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Sarah honors each individual’s lived experience and works to create a safe environment in which clients are empowered to confront barriers and re-author stories of success.

Diversity & Inclusion: Throughout Sarah’s career, she has worked with clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Her approach incorporates multicultural counseling, and she utilizes these strategies to help clients develop awareness and intention within various cultural systems. Sarah has specific experience with international populations, and regularly attends trainings that provide increased competency regarding sociocultural identities and the needs of underserved communities.

Ages: Sarah treats individual adolescents and adults.