About

About My Work and Education

My name is Sarah Haag, Ph.D., and I am a psychologist specializing in the psychotherapeutic treatment of conditions associated with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive conditions. I'm licensed in the state of California (PSY 24248). I'm the owner and service provider at the North Coast Center for Anxiety and OCD.

I primarily utilize cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and acceptance and commitment (ACT) therapy interventions. My style of therapy is genuine, warm, practical, light-hearted, action-oriented, and research-informed. I am not the kind of therapist who sits in passive silence analyzing your subconscious motivations. You’ll find that I am active and engaged with you, and offer practical guidance informed by evidence-based therapeutic approaches.

My clinical training primarily focused on working with adolescents and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, perfectionism, relational conflicts, identity concerns, educational and career-related stress, loss, and major life transitions. In graduate school at the University of Iowa, I was trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy while working with adults at a chronic pain clinic. In the years since becoming a licensed Psychologist, I have held two roles: therapist and college instructor. I have worked at the San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center and currently teach graduate and undergraduate classes in Counseling and Psychology, which helps me stay up to date on the new developments in research and theories related to counseling. Over the past few years, I have tailored my clinical work to focus on working with individuals who are struggling with anxiety, stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and related conditions using cognitive-behavioral and acceptance and commitment therapies. I provide research-informed individual therapy to adults with anxiety and/or OCD and related disorders. Outside of work, I am an animal lover, so in my spare time, I enjoy walking my dogs, playing with my cat, and spending time in nature.

I enjoy working with adults of all ages, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities who are experiencing challenges related to anxiety and stress. Oftentimes these challenges include social anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, perfectionism, intrusive worries or thoughts, OCD, health or illness anxiety, work stress, relational stress, work-life imbalances, life transitions and adjustment (e.g. starting a new job, starting college, coming out, divorce, retirement).

Professional Affiliations

  • Licensed in the state of California since 2011

  • Professional Member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS)

  • Behavioral Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) certification from the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF)

  • Lecturer, Cal Poly Humboldt (Department of Psychology)