Sarah Hader Kluger, LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
in New York State
“Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection.”
I grew up in a working class family, with Deaf parents, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2002, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and the Comparative Study of Religions. Soon after, I moved to Denver, Colorado, and began an ever-evolving career in the marketing and communications industry, working closely with non-profit agencies, religious organizations, and local governments. Truly, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I made dear life-long friends, got married, and started my own business. I was devastated by the death of my best friend, came to terms with my toxic marriage and got a divorce. I found my first therapist. I started to recognize my unhealthy patterns and learned what “codependent” means. I looked myself in the mirror and realized I did not recognize the person I had become.
When I finally relaxed my grip and turned my focus outward to the natural world, I was able to hear the voice of my authentic self calling. It was weary from being ignored for so long, but it never abandoned me. It called me to change horses in midstream, to become a mental health counselor and engage in the important work of “soul-tending,” supporting my fellow human beings to find and bravely walk their own path through this world.
In 2019, I graduated with a Master’s of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regis University in Denver. During my internship I had the opportunity to work with women who were incarcerated and experiencing serious mental illness. It was a difficult, moving and life-changing experience.
In 2020, my husband and I moved to Rochester, New York, and I began working as a mental health counselor in private practice. We welcomed Felix to our little family in November 2021 — my greatest teacher and my greatest joy!
I specialize in grief counseling and “companioning” the bereaved – being present to and honoring grief rather than treating it like a problem to be solved. Someone once asked me: "who do you think you are, to take away the suffering of another person?" That question shapes my work as a therapist. I don't have a magic wand and I can not take away your suffering. But I can support you in coping with the pain, and in allowing the suffering to work you — in order to find unexpected new ways to walk your path through this beautiful life.
“Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”