Psychotherapy at Sacral Root | Chelsea Saunders, APCC

A Thoughtful, Relational Approach to Care

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My therapeutic work is grounded in the understanding that meaningful psychological change happens through experience, not insight alone.

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Together, we create the conditions for something different to emerge — emotionally, physically, and in the way you relate to the people around you.

MODALITIES

My work draws from established, research-informed frameworks that look at how early experience, attachment, and nervous system functioning shape the way we move through the world and relate to each other. The short version: a lot of what feels like "just how you are" has a history. I integrate:

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Psychodynamic depth work

Explore how early experiences and family dynamics shaped the patterns you're living now, so you can see them clearly and make the choices that feel true for you.

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Relational & Interpersonal Neurobiology-informed

Understand how attachment, nervous system development, and cultural, social, and political experiences influence how you relate—to yourself, to others, and to the world around you.

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Somatic-informed

Develop awareness of how emotion, stress, and different parts of the self live in the body, while learning ways to regulate, integrate, and restore a sense of safety and internal balance.

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Strengths-focused & growth-oriented

Build on your existing resources and resilience, supporting meaningful shifts in perspective, behavior, and your sense of agency, meaning, and possibility.

This approach often resonates with people who are curious about their inner world and open to exploring their experience beyond surface-level solutions.

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You don't need to arrive with a clear agenda or a tidy summary of your concerns. A willingness to slow down and engage honestly is genuinely enough to start.

A lot of clients come in interested in the bigger picture — how emotions, relationships, and the body are all connected — and find that exploring those connections is where things start to shift. Even when life feels chaotic or hard to articulate, some capacity for reflection allows the work to go somewhere real.

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Book a Clarity Call

Primary Populations I Serve

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I work with individual adults and couples. My practice is deeply rooted in inclusion — not just as a policy, but in how I show up. I welcome clients across all identities, including the LGBTQIA+ community and those in relationships that don't follow a conventional structure: polyamory, ethical non-monogamy, and beyond. You won't need to spend our sessions doing a lot of explaining before we can actually get to work.

  • Anxiety often shows up as racing thoughts, chronic worry, or tension in the body—but it lives in the nervous system, not just the mind. Over time, anxiety can erode self-trust, leaving you second-guessing yourself or feeling unsure of your worth or decisions. Anxiety is shaped not only by personal history, but by living amidst uncertainty, cultural upheaval, or systemic stressors.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Chronic or high-functioning anxiety

    • Existential anxiety related to uncertainty, safety, or the future

    • Relational anxiety and fear of getting it “wrong”

    • Low self-esteem, self-doubt, or inner criticism

    • Performance anxiety or panic attacks

    • Somatic anxiety (tight chest, GI distress, hypervigilance)

    • Difficulty trusting yourself, your voice, or your choices

    My approach:
    I help clients understand anxiety and low self-esteem as protective responses shaped by experience—not flaws to fix. Together, we explore how these patterns show up emotionally, cognitively, and in the body, while developing new ways of responding that support regulation, clarity, and self-trust. Over time, clients often feel more grounded, less driven by fear, and more confident in their decisions.

  • Burnout often emerges from prolonged stress, blurred boundaries, and living in survival mode. Many clients intellectually understand their patterns yet feel unable to slow down—especially when care, responsibility, or moral concern feels unavoidable.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Caregivers, helpers, clinicians, and creatives

    • Chronic over-giving or people-pleasing

    • Perfectionism or internalized pressure

    • Moral injury or exhaustion from caring deeply in misaligned systems

    • Difficulty resting or tuning into personal needs

    My approach:
    Therapy focuses on slowing down, restoring nervous system balance, and reconnecting with internal signals. We explore relational and developmental patterns that reinforce over-responsibility while strengthening the capacity to pause, set boundaries, and engage with life in a more sustainable, grounded way.

  • Sexuality and intimacy are powerful pathways into understanding desire, attachment, boundaries, and the nervous system. Challenges in this area are often rooted in early relational experiences, shame, cultural messaging, or unspoken power dynamics—rather than a lack of knowledge or skill.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Difficulty accessing desire or pleasure

    • Mismatched libido or erotic differences in relationships

    • Shame, anxiety, or avoidance around sex

    • Exploring sexual identity or orientation

    • Kink, power dynamics, and consensual non-traditional expressions of sexuality

    • Navigating alternative relationship structures (e.g., non-monogamy, polyamory)

    • Challenges with intimacy, vulnerability, or erotic communication

    • Healing sexual wounds, disconnection, or relational rupture

    My approach:
    I work with sexuality as an embodied, relational experience shaped by attachment, nervous system responses, lived experience, and context. Therapy offers a grounded, nonjudgmental space to explore desire, boundaries, and power with curiosity and care—at a pace that feels safe and respectful.

  • Attachment patterns are often unconscious and embodied, shaping how we experience intimacy, boundaries, and connection. Because relational dynamics emerge in relationship, therapy offers a unique space to explore these patterns safely and in real time.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Repeating relational patterns

    • Anxious or avoidant dynamics

    • Boundary or communication challenges

    • Fear of abandonment or intimacy

    • Over-giving / under-receiving

    • Co-dependency and lack of differentiation

    My approach:
    I help clients explore how early attachment experiences and relational histories show up in current relationships, intimacy, and self-expression. Through insight, embodied awareness, and relational work, clients develop greater self-trust, emotional safety, and capacity for authentic connection—both with others and themselves.

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  • Periods of transition often bring unconscious patterns to the surface and can stir grief, uncertainty, or disorientation. In times of collective instability, transitions may also disrupt meaning, belonging, and one’s sense of orientation in the world.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Career changes or professional identity shifts

    • Entering, redefining, or ending relationships

    • Moving out of family systems or renegotiating boundaries

    • Developmental milestones (early adulthood, midlife, caregiving roles)

    • Grief related to loss, change, or unrealized futures

    My approach:
    I support clients in making sense of emotional, relational, and bodily responses that arise during transitions. Therapy helps clients honor what is being released, integrate evolving aspects of self, and move forward with clarity, grounded confidence, and self-trust.

  • Depression is often linked to disconnection, unprocessed grief, or suppressed emotion. For many, it also reflects a loss of meaning, coherence, or connection in the face of ongoing stress or collective grief.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Persistent low mood or loss of interest

    • Feeling disconnected from self or others

    • Grieving the loss of a loved one

    • Internalized self-criticism or shame

    My approach:
    Therapy focuses on understanding emotional and relational patterns while supporting safe expression, reconnection, and renewed engagement with life. More severe depression may require coordination with additional providers.

  • Relational and developmental trauma can shape attachment, emotional regulation, and bodily awareness. This work emphasizes safety, pacing, and collaboration, making it well-suited for clients navigating the impacts of early or complex relational wounds.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Complex or developmental trauma

    • Attachment wounds or relational trauma

    • Emotional neglect or chronic invalidation

    • Difficulty with trust, boundaries, or intimacy

    My approach:
    I help clients notice how trauma lives in the body, nervous system, and relationships, supporting integration at a pace that feels safe and empowering. Therapy focuses on grounding, relational repair, and strengthening self-trust—allowing clients to reclaim agency and experience greater ease, connection, and resilience.

  • Anger is often misunderstood as something to manage or suppress, when in reality it is a protective response shaped by the nervous system, early experiences, unmet needs, and context. For many, anger also arises in response to injustice, boundary violations, or witnessing harm without adequate avenues for repair.

    Common experiences I support:

    • Reactive or explosive anger

    • Irritability or short temper under stress

    • Anger that feels overwhelming or hard to regulate

    • Difficulty expressing anger without guilt, shame, or withdrawal

    • Anger connected to boundary violations or feeling unseen

    • Cycling between emotional suppression and emotional outbursts

    My approach:
    Rather than trying to eliminate anger, we work to understand what it’s signaling and how it lives in the body and nervous system. Over time, this supports clearer boundaries, more effective communication, and a felt sense of agency—allowing anger to become a source of information rather than disruption.

Chelsea Saunders, M.A., Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) #22145

Practicing in the state of California

Supervised by Sara Kenney, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) #20060

321 N Larchmont Blvd Suite 622, Los Angeles, CA 90004

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Your First Session

The first session is called a Clarity Session. We use it to talk about what brought you in, touch on relevant history, and get a real sense of how I work. It's also a genuine chance to assess fit — the therapeutic relationship is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, so it matters that it feels right.

If you decide to continue, the session becomes your first paid appointment. If it's not the right match, there's no charge.

Fee: $165 standard rate

Limited sliding-scale spots available

Sessions are available online and in person in Los Angeles.

Book a Clarity Call

You are welcome here.

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Most people who find their way to this work aren't broken. They're just paying close attention. They feel the weight of their histories, their relationships, a world that moves too fast to process. Therapy here isn't about adjusting you to what hurts. It's about building enough ground under your feet that you can actually meet your life — with clarity, and a little more trust in yourself.

Schedule a Psychotherapy Clarity Call

So, what’s next?

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If you’re feeling curious about working together, the next step is to schedule a complimentary clarity call here. This initial discussion offers a calm, low-pressure space to share what’s bringing you here, ask questions, and get a feel for how I work. There’s no expectation to know exactly what you are looking for—just an opportunity to see whether this partnership feels like the right support for you.