Clinical Expertise

  • Trauma

  • Stress

  • School Issues

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Family Conflict

  • Coping Skills

  • Life Transitions

  • Adoption/Permanency

  • Caregiving

  • Relationship Issues

Treatment Interventions

  • Mindfulness

  • EMDR

  • TF-CBT (trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Expressive Therapies: Drama Therapy

  • the ARC Framework

  • SMART (sensorimotor arousal regulation treatment)

  • Motivational Interviewing

  • TCTSY (Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga)

 
Sarah Kostecki, LMHC, RDT

Settings Where I have served clients

  • The Center for Trauma and Embodiment

  • McLean Hospital: Inpatient Psychiatry

  • Boston Children’s Hospital: Inpatient Psychiatry

  • The Trauma Center at JRI: Outpatient clinical services

  • Justice Resource Institute: Residential treatment

  • Bournewood Hospital: Inpatient Psychiatry

Education/Training

I received my MA in Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Therapies from Lesley University with a specialization in Drama Therapy. In addition to being an LMHC, I am also a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) with the North American Drama Therapy Association. I am trained in the ARC (Attachment, Self Regulation, and Competency) Framework and SMART (Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment), and I have completed PESI’s intensive training course in DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy). I am also currently becoming certified in TCTSY (Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga).

Clinical Experience

Over the course of my career, I have worked as a therapist in inpatient, outpatient and residential psychiatric treatment settings including under world-renowned trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps the Score Dr. Bessel van der Kolk at The Trauma Center in Brookline, MA. There I received comprehensive training through the trauma studies certification program, as well as supervision for the treatment of clients with complex trauma. More recently, I coordinated the therapeutic group program for Boston Children's Hospital's Inpatient Psychiatry Service and provided group therapy services for adults with acute depression and anxiety on the Short Term Unit at McLean Hospital.

Expressive Arts

Prior to counseling, my focus was the performing arts. I received my BA in Theatre Arts and Communications from Boston College and initially set out to act and facilitate educational theatre. Post-graduation, I moved to Chicago to train in the famed The Second City’s improv conservatory while working as part of an educational theatre ensemble, Healthworks Theater, which toured elementary and high schools across Illinois to address difficult life topics with teens. This work inspired me to return to school to obtain my MA in Expressive Therapies, specifically Drama Therapy, which allowed me to become credentialed as both a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). In one of my first clinical roles, I was a member of a therapeutic theatre ensemble that worked with trauma-impacted adolescents in Justice Resource Institute’s residential treatment programs. I am also a co-developer and part of the leadership team for ReScripted, a therapeutic embodied play and improv intervention through the Center for Trauma and Embodiment.

Administrative Experience

While with Justice Resource Institute (JRI) I helped to launch and served as the Clinical Director and Assistant Program Director for Massachusetts’ first Latency age group home, Little Heroes Home, for children with complex trauma and co-occurring mental health diagnoses.