Sarah Johnston, LCSW

Sarah Johnston is a licensed clinical social worker in Kentucky who uses practical, evidence-informed approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy to help people manage stress and anxiety. She focuses on everyday problems such as relationship strain, parenting challenges, and low self-esteem. Sarah keeps language simple and sessions direct so parents can fit therapy into busy lives.

She brings three years of clinical experience to each session. That experience includes supporting people navigating adoption and foster care questions, blended family concerns, and caregiver stress. She also addresses issues like infidelity, divorce and separation, financial strain, and midlife transitions.

In sessions she creates an open, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about thoughts and feelings. She listens closely and helps name patterns that get in the way. Then she and the client work on small, practical steps to change those patterns.

Sarah uses a mix of approaches to match each person’s needs. Cognitive behavioral techniques help identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors. Solution-focused methods support short-term goal setting and momentum. Motivational interviewing can help when someone feels stuck or ambivalent about change.

Her style is collaborative and straightforward. She aims to make sessions useful from the start and to help people build skills they can use between meetings. If the idea of starting therapy feels hard, she acknowledges that and focuses on one step at a time.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online care

Sarah uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors; this approach often helps with anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem. She also draws on client-centered techniques that emphasize listening and validation to help people feel heard and understood, which supports work on relationships and parenting challenges. Motivational interviewing is used when someone is unsure about change and needs help finding internal reasons to move forward.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Sarah will talk with each person about their goals and try methods that fit their situation. She adjusts techniques as needed and collaborates on small, achievable steps so progress can be tracked between sessions.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for deeper conversations and skill practice, while phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging are handy for quick check-ins, short coaching, or when a person prefers writing instead of speaking. These options make therapy more flexible for parents juggling schedules and for people who need different ways to connect with a therapist.