- Years in practice
- 26
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Tennessee
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Sara
Sara Tinker, LCSW helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, parenting challenges, and trauma. She brings 26 years of practice in Tennessee and speaks plainly about what to expect. Her style is warm and interactive, focused on building a trusting working relationship from the first session.
Sara uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people manage symptoms and make everyday changes. She often draws on attachment ideas to improve relationships and on skills from dialectical behavior therapy to manage strong emotions.
Background and approach
Conversations are direct and aimed at small, doable steps for coping and connection. Her background combines graduate social work training with long experience in community mental health and independent practice. Over the years she has supported people with depression, bipolar disorder, grief, addiction, chronic illness, and intimacy concerns.
That range of work informs how she tailors sessions to each person's needs. Sara values the whole person rather than labels or diagnoses. She works with people around communication, boundaries, blended family issues, caregiver stress, body image, and sexual identity concerns.
Parenting is one of the areas she lists as a focus, offering help with the stresses of raising children and family conflict. Sessions can include talk therapy, emotion-focused work, and practical skills training. The goal is clearer relationships, steadier mood, and better daily functioning.
Her approach centers on respect, empathy, and helping people find hope and practical change.
What Sara works with
Everything Sara lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Sara helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Sara lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches and how they work online
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how relationships shape emotions and behavior. Online sessions use conversations and exercises to help people notice patterns with partners or children and try new ways of connecting. Client-Centered Therapy centers the client's goals and experience. In this approach the therapist listens closely, reflects back what is heard, and helps people find their own solutions to stress, grief, or parenting struggles. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better communication. These skills are practical for managing anger, anxiety, or relationship conflict and can be practiced between sessions.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust them as progress is made, keeping the process collaborative and grounded in real-life needs.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging can be useful for brief check-ins or paced reflection. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week and to keep continuity when travel or scheduling changes occur.
Questions people ask about Sara
What concerns does she address?
Sara works with problems like anxiety, depression, trauma and stress. Parenting, relationship strain, grief, addiction issues, and chronic illness are also listed areas she helps with.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her approach is warm, interactive, and direct. She focuses on building trust and using practical strategies to manage emotions and improve relationships.
How long has she practiced?
She has 26 years of clinical experience that include community mental health, adolescent services, and long-term independent practice.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in Tennessee and practices from that state.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
What formats are available for sessions?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different preferences and schedules.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with therapy?
Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire, then schedule sessions based on therapist availability.
More therapists for parents in Tennessee
All in Tennessee
Ondria Spivey
LPC-MHSP
Tennessee 24 years in practice
Calm, practical support for stressed parents
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
Brigette DaBiere
LCSW
Tennessee 25 years in practice
Practical support for parenting stress and life challenges
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Anger
Dr. Jessica Hamm
LPC, LPCC
Tennessee 16 years in practice
Compassionate counselor for parenting and life challenges
- Addictions
- Relationship
- Trauma and abuse