Sage Swiatek
My Work
Healing isn’t a solitary process. We need connection to get out of survival mode and move towards a life we can thrive in. As a therapist, I help my clients break patterns of isolation to reconnect with themselves and their communities—even if that just starts with the two of us.
I’m an integrative, somatic therapist, which means that I look at therapy as a process that involves our mind and body.
My clients come to therapy with a variety of concerns, including healing from trauma, working through grief or loss, and living with chronic pain or illness. Some are managing mood issues like depression or bipolar disorder. Others are looking for support around relationships and intimacy, either individually or as a couple. Many of my clients identify as queer, disabled, or non-monogamous. I also enjoy working with women in STEM and people in the helping professions, such as healthcare or education.
If you decide to work with me, you can expect a therapist who has done their own work so that I can be a grounded presence for you. My goal is to foster a space where you can be truly, authentically yourself, in all your complexity.
If you’re looking for a therapist who values curiosity, empathy, and an ongoing commitment to social justice, I might be the person you’re looking for. Reach out today to schedule a free, 20-minute phone consultation and take the first step.
Sage Swiatek, LCSW (she/they)
Licensed Clinical Social Worker #132789
Currently Offering: Online Therapy in California
My Story
My path to becoming a somatic therapist started with a lifelong curiosity and empathy for others. Early in my career, I was drawn into helping professions like sex education and healthcare. However, I realized trying to “fix” others ultimately led to burnout and chronic stress.
Sitting in a therapist’s office for the first time as an undergraduate student, I realized I had my own healing to do if I wanted to show up for other people. I understood my experiences intellectually, but struggled to heal those deep, persistent symptoms.
In my own therapy, I learned how essential it was to build a relationship with both myself and my body. Even though mindfulness didn’t come easily at first, slowly I learned how to channel empathy into compassion, so that I could support others without needing to self-sacrifice. My experience with therapy approaches like EMDR, and my exposure to Black feminist theory, broadened my understanding of how healing isn’t an individual, intellectual experience. It’s connected to our identities and the systems we all live in, too. My healing began not just in my mind, but through “embodied connection” with my body, my community, and my values.
Today, I am committed to supporting others who feel deeply, harnessing my own healing journey to help clients reconnect to themselves through somatic therapy. My work is rooted in compassion, community, and a belief that lasting change begins with embodiment.
On a separate and lighter note, I am an avid ocean lover. The ocean is a place of great healing and joy for me. There is no greater thrill than to watch humpback whales breaching in the Monterey Bay or to happen upon a nudibranch in the tide pools. I am located in the Santa Cruz Mountains where you can find me walking among the redwoods and banana slugs with my dogs.