Louise Sawaki, LPC

Hello and welcome. Whether this is your first or fiftieth experience with counseling, I welcome you with non-judgment, open arms, and acceptance.

I believe that because we all are relational, people are wired for and dependent on relationships with others. Also, I am acutely aware that a positive therapeutic relationship plays a crucial role in the success of our work together. Therefore, I feel honored and privileged when clients trust me to accompany them on their journey of transformation. 

Change, healing, understanding, forgiveness, self-awareness, and recovery from addiction are a few of the therapy goals that I have worked through with clients. In every instance, my approach is first and foremost to listen with empathy and patience, holding no judgment or presuppositions. I have found that exploring relationships within the family often helps clients notice how these might be influencing present issues and concerns. Together we first notice, then examine and challenge unhelpful beliefs and patterns, and within the safety of therapy work, practice and integrate constructive alternatives. The goal is always to find a way to restore balance and wholeness, not to achieve an “ideal.” I hope to establish a space where you will have both safety and accountability. I believe in innate wisdom, innate genius, and innate strength, but I have found that sometimes it takes either some distance or another’s prompting to uncover these in ourselves.

I work primarily with individuals, and I have had some success with couples. I work with adolescents elsewhere, but can work on parent-child relationships. Before joining Therapy Austin, I worked in substance abuse and addiction rehabilitation, and there I worked extensively with families. I look forward to working with clients to address and explore issues around anxiety, stress, depression/low mood, troubled childhood, substance abuse, low self-esteem, personal growth and life transitions, spirituality, complicated grief, and relationship issues.

On a personal note, I am the other “therapist with the accent” working at Therapy Austin. I too hail from distant shores, and come to Texas from Tanzania (Kilimanjaro to be a little more precise). Coincidently, also by way of England (and Holland, Belgium, Sweden and California)! When I first came to Austin, MOPAC was a dream, and Austinites’ chief complaints were about too many folks moving here. Now MOPAC is more a “nightmare” and we locals still complain about too many folks moving here! I completed my undergraduate degree in Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, then married and divorced. I ran a Registered Family Daycare for 11 years before spending decades in social service and mental health case management, and subsequently returned to graduate school. I completed my Professional Counseling education at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest with joy! I am a very proud mom of a happy young adult with Autism. Our favorite “hobby” is trying out baking recipes together: I bake, we decorate, we feast!

We can all find we need time to press pause to get our bearings- transition, uncertainty, loss, depression, anxiety, stress, or some other reasons may be motivating you to seek out help today.