ABOUT ME
Sara Hertzel, PsyD (She/Her)
Who I Work With
I work with adults 18+, residing in any PSYPACT state, navigating grief and loss, trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, and LGBTQA+ concerns. Many of the people I work with are used to holding it together on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, stuck, or emotionally exhausted underneath. They’re often insightful and self-aware, but tired of surviving in the same patterns and ready for something to shift.
Therapy with me is active, collaborative, and goal-oriented while still deeply respectful of your identity, history, and nervous system. Real change often happens both inside and outside of the therapy room, so our work together may include practicing new skills between sessions, noticing patterns in everyday life, experimenting with different ways of responding, and building more supportive routines and relationships over time.
Together, we create space to better understand what you’re carrying, process difficult experiences without becoming overwhelmed by them, and move toward a life that feels more grounded, meaningful, and manageable.
Areas of Specialty
My primary areas of specialty include:
Grief and loss, with particular expertise in suicide loss survivorship
Trauma and PTSD
Chronic pain, especially chronic migraines
Identity-affirming care for LGBTQA+ individuals
I also regularly offer professional development and continuing education for mental health professionals on grief and loss-related topics.
Background and Training
I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Temple University. After undergrad, I moved to Baltimore to work as a post-bac research assistant at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. I later returned to the Philadelphia area for graduate training and earned my Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) in Clinical Psychology from Widener University in 2022. I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Pennsylvania (#PS019683). Widener University is a generalist program, which means I was trained to treat a broad range of concerns. I’ve worked in inpatient and outpatient settings, including working in multidisciplinary teams of physical therapists, OTs, neurologists, and psychiatrists. I completed my doctoral internship at Jefferson Headache Center, where I trained alongside a multidisciplinary team specializing in headache and pain disorders. Within multidisciplinary settings, I often found myself bridging the gap between patients and providers by helping to understand chronic pain through a more trauma-informed lens. This work deepened my understanding of how often people living with chronic pain feel misunderstood, dismissed, or reduced to symptoms, and shaped the way I approach therapy today. My dissertation focused on sibling survivors of suicide loss and received distinguished honors. Through this work, I developed a deep specialization in traumatic grief and the unique complexities that can follow sudden, violent, or life-altering loss. My clinical and research training has included work with survivors of suicide loss, complicated grief, trauma-related responses, and the ways loss can impact identity, relationships, meaning, and the nervous system over time. I am especially passionate about supporting people whose grief feels isolating, misunderstood, or difficult to make space for in everyday life. I have formal training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Grief Therapy, and psychophysiological therapies, including Biofeedback (I do not currently offer Biofeedback). As a queer therapist, I value creating spaces rooted in acceptance, curiosity, and feeling fully seen for who you are. I try to bring that same groundedness and humanity into the therapy space.
Outside of the Office
I was born and raised just outside of Philadelphia. My vibe is very East Coast, which means I value authenticity and I have strong opinions about sandwiches. I still love any excuse to head into Philly for good food or a live show, though these days I call the suburbs home.
Outside of work, I’m usually spending time with my partner, family, and friends, unplugging on a hike, treating myself to a new houseplant, lifting weights, riding horses, or catching an indie show.