Sarah Shields
MA, MSW, LLMSW · Limited Licensed Master Social Worker · Michigan
Therapy for people who are tired of fighting for care — and tired of being tired.
If you're living with a chronic illness, an autoimmune condition, or the aftermath of medical experiences that left you feeling dismissed, minimized, or gaslit — you deserve a therapist who gets it without you having to prove it first.
Before becoming a therapist, I was a visual artist, graphic designer, and educator. I bring that creative lens into clinical work — including arts-based and narrative approaches to healing — because sometimes words alone aren't enough.
At a Glance
Therapy for chronic illness and medical trauma
Living with a chronic or autoimmune condition means navigating a world that doesn't see the full picture of your life. The fatigue is real. The grief is real. The exhaustion of explaining yourself — again — is real. You shouldn't have to do that in therapy too.
I work with people who are managing the daily weight of illness alongside everything else life asks of them. That includes the identity shifts that come with diagnosis, the grief of losing the life you planned, the strain on relationships, and the particular frustration of being dismissed by the very systems that are supposed to help.
Medical gaslighting recovery
If your experience in the medical system has left you doubting your own body, your own pain, or your own reality — that's not a personal failing. That's a predictable response to being repeatedly told that what you're experiencing isn't real or isn't serious enough. We can work with that. I believe you, and we start there.
Who I work with
I work with people navigating chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, eating distress, neurodivergence, and the exhaustion that comes from fighting for care while trying to live your life. I also work with pregnancy and postpartum transitions, cultural transitions, caregivers, and people rebuilding after narcissistic abuse or domestic violence.
My approach is collaborative and grounded in active listening, cultural humility, and deep respect for lived experience. You are the expert on your own body and your own life. I bring clinical skill and genuine partnership — not assumptions about what you should be feeling or doing.
How I work
My approach is trauma-informed and strengths-based. I pay attention to the ways your history, your identity, and the systems around you shape what you're going through — because none of this happens in a vacuum. We work at your pace, in your way, building on what's already strong in you.
I also draw from arts-based and narrative approaches — including somatic, visual, and written modalities — for clients who connect with creative expression as part of their healing. My background in visual art, design, and literary studies gives me a lens that most therapists don't bring to the room.
Treatment is individualized. If something isn't working, we change it. Therapy is a space for you, and it can be whatever you need it to be.
Your illness is not "all in your head." Your pain is not a personality flaw.
You Shouldn't Have to Fight Here Too
If the medical system has left you feeling invisible, dismissed, or broken — therapy should be the place where that stops. You don't need to bring documentation. You don't need to convince me. You just need to show up.
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Specialties
- Chronic illness & autoimmune conditions
- Medical trauma & gaslighting recovery
- Caregiver fatigue & burnout
- Pregnancy & postpartum transitions
- Eating distress
- Narcissistic abuse & domestic violence
- Neurodivergence
- Cultural transitions
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Approach
- Trauma-informed
- Strengths-based
- Arts-based & narrative
- Collaborative & individualized
- Active listening
- Cultural humility
- Respect for lived experience
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Insurance & Access
- BCBS
- Aetna
- Private pay
- Telehealth — online only
- Michigan
You deserve care that believes you
If you're living with chronic illness, caregiver burnout, or the aftermath of medical experiences that left marks — reach out. Text us or fill out our request form. No phone calls needed. Please tell us your insurance so we can verify your benefits before your first session.