Sage on the Bay Counseling Services, LLC

Dr. Sara E Ratliff, DBH, LCSW, C-DBT earned her Doctoral degree in Behavioral Health from Arizona State University in 2018. She is a bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in children and families. She holds unrestricted clinical licenses in Social Work in the states of Illinois, Arizona, and Maryland (LCSW & LCSW-C). Dr. Ratliff has over 13 years of experience working with individuals and couples and has been a licensed therapist for 8 years. She began her career working with individuals experiencing substance abuse related issues and reintegrating into society after their release from the criminal justice system in southern Arizona. She has also worked with children and families stationed overseas seeking their forever family under international and national adoption programs, such as the U.S. Foster Care System. In the last 10 years, Dr. Ratliff has focused on working with Active Duty, Retirees, and their families with different programs ranging from the prevention and identification of domestic violence, child abuse, healthy relationships, disabilities, integrated medicine, and specialized military mental health. Her areas of expertise include but are not limited to family systems and relationship issues, stress management, grief and loss, anxiety, depression, and personal growth. She is certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), ScreamFree Marriage and Parenting, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Insomnia (CBT-I) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-Pain). Dr. Ratliff utilizes a multi-dimensional approach to therapy. Rather than adopting one methodology for all individuals and issues, she draws from a variety of methods to create a tailored approach for each individual and situations by exploring everyone’s biological, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. She approaches both counseling and assessments as healing processes, helping to answer deep-seated questions that individuals have about themselves. She provides an environment of compassion and support to help individuals learn their patterns and thrive. She desires to walk alongside others and assist them in healing from trauma, building self-worth, improving communication in their relationships, and reaching their own therapeutic goals. Dr. Ratliff is warm, open, encouraging, and direct. she considers herself an active therapist, combining experience, education, creativity, and sense of humor with a down-to-earth and realistic approach to counseling. Her therapeutic approach is to evaluate each person within their environment and provide support and practical feedback to help clients effectively address personal life challenges. Dr. Ratliff has spent most of her professional life in Germany supporting the military. She still focuses most of her time supporting and treating military personnel. Her private practice is focused on serving people from different multicultural backgrounds in a holistic approach to mental health and medical health care. She is a native Spanish speaker.