Compassionate, Florida therapist offering specialized care for women wanting to heal from trauma, anxiety, generalized stress, breaking cycles, and more.
Your healing starts here.
Helping you feel more calm, balanced, and supported on your counseling journey.
“You’re now is not your forever.” -John Green
About Zenful Connections Counseling
Zenful Connections is a virtually based, Florida counseling service. I am dedicated to supporting women, college students, and teens through difficult life situations. I will hold a safe space for your feelings and experiences, so you don’t have to go through it alone. And we go at YOUR comfort level.
A modality greatly used in my counseling work is called “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy”(DBT). DBT helps you manage emotions, reduce stress, and improve your relationships. It teaches practical skills while staying present, coping with overwhelming feelings, and communicating more effectively. DBT is especially helpful if you feel stuck in patterns that are hard to change on your own. This modaility can apply to most things which is why it’s so effective and life changing!
As part of my practice, I also offer Trauma Informed Care. This may apply if you have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse at any point in your life. This also applies to past or present domestic violence. In addition, many clients that I treat have experienced generational trauma and want to work on breaking cycles, and understanding how their past relationships and/or childhood has affected them. Trauma informed care assists with all of this as it helps us identify patterns, understand how we have been affected, helps re-write your story, and teaches how to regulate your nervous system so you can feel more calm and regulated. Can you relate to any of the following?
Tired, unmotivated, or overwhelmed by tasks that felt “easy” before? Or as if you can’t “get out of your own way?”
Keep thinking of, or re-living unpleasant life experiences?
Can’t get “unstuck” from your job, relationship, or lifestyle?
Difficulty setting and keeping boundaries?
“Small” things are feeling overwhelming like several noises at once, discomfort in your body, or brain fog.
Balancing work/school and social life seems impossible
Can’t get into a routine
Do you sometimes feel irritable, or that your mood is unpredictable?
Communication with others seems hard, or you feel misunderstood?
If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, you are in the right place!
Meet Sarah Emmons LMHC
Hi, I’m Sarah, licensed mental health counselor. I have a passion for helping women, college students, and teens feel more grounded, resiliant, and connected to themselves. I graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 2008, and have spent my carreer supporting individuals through anxiety, trauma, life transitions, and emotional overwhelm.
Early in my carreer, I worked in residential school environmnets for teens, locked juvenile facilities, as well as providing In Home Therapy for families with young children, and teens. During this time, I also worked a second job as a clinician for the local homeless shelter, providing support to families who had experienced domestic violence, and other difficult life transitions.
I am certified in Dialectival Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Trauma Informed Certified. My work emphasizes mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and practical skills that help clients build awareness, emotional balance, and a sense of safety within themselves. I also offer a faith based approach for those interested.
The population I specialize in includes working with adult women, college students, and teens, to create a supportive and colloborative space where clients can explore challenges, develop coping skills, and move towards meaningful change at their own pace.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, I previously owned and operated a private practice before relocating to Florida. I am excited to build my practice here in Florida, and continuing the work that I love while connecting with my community!
I am virtually based at this time.
I am a private-pay provider. I want to have the flexibility of working with you without insurance dictating how often we can meet, the work done, etc. While I don't accept your insurance directly, your plan may have out-of-network (OON) benefits, which means your insurance will reimburse you for a large portion of our session cost. If you do have OON benefits, I have partnered with Thrizer to handle the out-of-network process automatically for you. They will take care of submitting and managing the claims for you, so you don't have to worry about submitting superbills. You can use the widget on this page to check whether you have OON benefits and your expected fee post deductible.
And of course if you have any questions on this, please reach out. Using this is totally optional and just a way to help you reduce cost!
Our Services
A 50 minute counseling session is a supportive, collaborative space focused on what feels important for you that day. Sessions typically include talk therapy, mindfulness (which is the practice of being present in the moment), coping skills building, and a mind body approach to support regulating emotions and healing. We work at your pace to build insight, and strengthen healing. Each session ends with a brief reflection, along with a self care action plan for the week.
A 90 minute therapy session is very similar to a standard 50 minute session which includes talk therapy, coping skills building, emotion regulation, and action planning. The 90 minute session, gives more time to dive deeper into more stressful, or circumstantial situations which may be occuring in your life at this point which require more detailed conversation, along with additional nervous system regulation, or safety planning. Please note this is not to replace a crisis evaluation which may require additional support or services.
This service is exactly the same as our Individual Therapy Service. However, I want to recognize the pressure, busy schedules, and difference in income that our college students experience. Due to this, I want to make services more attainable for students. If you are a FULL time, currently enrolled college student between the ages of 17-23, you can be seen at the discounted rate.
A 3 hour intensive session is an extended, more in depth session for quicker and more profound progress. This is suitable for tackling more complex issues such as trauma, healing from complex ptsd, or an urgent relationship crisis.
This will be a structured session with a more direct solution focus as an outcome, and is typically only 1-3 sessions depending on the client and needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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During this 15 minute call, please ensure you have the privacy to speak freely. There is no paperwork during this time. I will ask you some basic questions about why you are seeking counseling, and what kind of support you are looking for. There is no pressure on what to share during our call. You can book an appointment at this time, or think about if you’re ready to start.
For the first session:
Prior to your first session, your therapist will send you hippa secure intake paperwork to be filled out before the initial session.
It is important that you allow yourself a quiet space, with no distractions or interuptions.
Get cozy! Have some water, tea or coffee , and a comfy chair to sit in. We want this experience to feel safe and relaxed.
Also, if you are not ready to talk about certain topics, that is okay! We go at your pace.
Lastly, we will identify overall goals at this time along with how to ensure your goals are attainable.
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It is essential that you feel comfortable with your therapist. This is your time, and you deserve to feel heard, understood, and seen.
Every therapist has a different style and personality. Personally, I can tell you that I am NOT a blank slate therapist who is just going to nod at you and sit in quiet. Just not my style. I will hold space for your tears, and I will hold space to laugh and celebrate wins with you as well.
If for any reason you feel I am not a good match for you, you can commnuicate this to me. I will then do my best to try and refer you to a better match.
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DBT is a very specific therapy modaility developed by psychologist Marsha Linehan in the 1070’s. It helps you manage emotions, reduce stress, and improve your relationships. It teaches practical skills while staying present, coping with overwhelming feelings, and communicating more effectively. DBT is especially helpful if you feel stuck in patterns that are hard to change on your own.
One of the core components of DBT is called “Mindfulness.” I use this term and practice as a main component in teaching stress reduction, anxiety reduction, and overall self care.
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Yes! Only if you WANT it to work though. Let’s be honest, nothing will change, if you don’t make changes.
The goal is to provide a safe space for you to share, and work through whatever your focus is. Sometimes the most healing part of therapy, is having someone who will listen without judgement or their personal opinions. Having a friend to talk with is great, but a therapist is going to be un-biased because we are not emotionally attached the way a friend is.
In addition to providing a safe, and judgement free zone; talk therapy can help you identify patterns you want to break, how to incorporate coping skills, regulate your emotions, improve communication, set boundaries, establish a routine, and so much more!
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Trauma -informed care is an approach to therapy that recognizes how past experiences (especially overwhelming or distressing ones) can impact how you think, feel, and respond today.
Instead of asking “what’s wrong with me?” it focuses on “what happened to you.” It looks at how that shaped your nervous system and patterns. It prioritizes safety and choice so you can feel respected, and in control of your healing. The goal is to help you build awareness, and healthier ways of coping at your own pace.
Work Books
Do you find yourself multi-tasking more often than you would like? Maybe you don’t feel as present, calm, or focused as you could be? Then this workbook is for you! You can use this in addition to counseling, or if you would like to add a self help routine to manage basic stress and anxiety.
Zenful Connections Counseling And Wellness Center uses “Simple Practice” as a HIPPA regulated site for telehealth sessions, scheduling, billing, and note tracking.
If you would like to request an appointment, or free 15 minute consulation, please click the link to the right to be directed to the Simple Practice Platform.
If you prefer to email for more information, etc then please fill out the “Let’s chat more” form at the bottom of our site.
Thank you for taking the time to consider Zenful Connections Counseling And Wellness Center as part of your healing journey!
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“Your now is not your forever.” -John Green
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