Question 1

Do I have to live in Virginia to work with you?

Accepted Answer

While I serve the greater DMV region, clinical regulations dictate that you must be physically present in the state of Virginia during our sessions. Out-of-state clients frequently travel to my restorative Fairfax suite for multi-day intensive containers.

Question 2

Do you offer in-person and virtual sessions?

Accepted Answer

Both. I see clients in person at my Fairfax office (Fairfax Commons, 3929 Blenheim Blvd #92D) and virtually via secure video anywhere in Virginia. Many intensive clients travel in from around the DMV for a multi-day, in-person container.

Question 3

How much do sessions cost?

Accepted Answer

My fee is $225 per 50-minute session. EMDR Intensives are priced separately: $500 for the 90-minute intake and prep workbook, plus $1,500 per intensive day (most intensives run 1–3 days, depending on what we're working on). An optional follow-up session is $300/hr, prorated if longer. Reach out and I'll walk you through what's included.

Question 4

Do you take insurance?

Accepted Answer

I'm private-pay (out-of-network), which keeps our work yours alone — no diagnosis on file for an insurance company, no session caps dictating your care. I can provide a monthly superbill you can submit to your insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

Question 5

What happens in a first session?

Accepted Answer

The first session is mostly about getting to know you — what brought you in, what you're carrying, and what you want to feel differently. There's no script and nothing you have to have figured out first. We'll decide together where to start and whether weekly work or an intensive is the better fit.

Question 6

How long are sessions?

Accepted Answer

Session length varies by client. Most of my regular clients meet for 90 minutes to 2 hours — I've found that length ideal for going deeper and seeing faster change. I still see some clients for a standard 50-minute session, too. Intensives run in longer, focused blocks across three days, for the same reason — so we can stay in the work instead of stopping just as it opens up.

Question 7

Why an intensive instead of weekly therapy?

Accepted Answer

Because trauma doesn't heal on a 50-minute timer. Every weekly session you spend the first 20 minutes re-opening the wound and the last 10 closing it back up. An intensive holds the container open long enough to actually do — and integrate — the work, in days instead of years.

Question 8

Where are EMDR intensives held?

Accepted Answer

Your pre-intensive intake session can be done virtually. The intensive days themselves require in-person treatment at my Fairfax office — that in-person container is part of what makes the work possible in a focused block of time.

Question 9

What is EMDR, in plain terms?

Accepted Answer

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a well-researched therapy that helps your brain reprocess stuck memories so they stop hijacking your present. You don't have to relive the past in detail — we help it lose its charge so you can remember it without it taking over your body.

Question 10

Isn't EMDR just for "big" trauma, like abuse or a car accident?

Accepted Answer

No — that's one of the biggest myths about EMDR. I use it constantly for relational and attachment wounding, and for the negative beliefs people picked up early in life — things like "I don't matter" or "I'm not enough" — that are still quietly running the show. This shows up a lot in high-achieving, burnt-out women who learned early that their value came from being good, responsible, mature, and not needing anything. You don't need a single dramatic event for EMDR to help.

Question 11

Do you only work with moms?

Accepted Answer

Mothers and the perinatal season are my heart and specialty — pregnancy, postpartum, matrescence, and the trauma and identity shifts that come with them. But I don't work exclusively with moms, especially for EMDR and 3-Day Intensives — I see anyone ready to do deep trauma and belief-level work, parent or not. If you're not sure you're a fit, reach out and we'll figure it out together.

Question 12

Where can I find a postpartum or perinatal therapist in Fairfax, Virginia?

Accepted Answer

Sarah Hagen, LCSW, PMH-C offers perinatal and postpartum therapy in Fairfax, Virginia and virtually across Virginia (serving the greater DMV). As a Perinatal Mental Health Certified (PMH-C) therapist, she supports postpartum depression and anxiety, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, mom rage, and matrescence. Reach out to book a free consult.

Question 13

Who offers EMDR therapy in Fairfax, VA?

Accepted Answer

Sarah Hagen, LCSW is an EMDR-certified (EMDRIA) therapist offering EMDR in Fairfax, Virginia and virtually across Virginia — for trauma, anxiety, birth and medical trauma, and the negative self-beliefs that quietly run the show. You can work together weekly or in a focused 3-day EMDR intensive.

Question 14

Do you offer EMDR intensives near me in Virginia?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Sarah offers 3-day EMDR intensives at her Fairfax, Virginia office — accelerated trauma healing that condenses months of weekly work into a few focused days (Map → Heal → Integrate). The pre-intensive intake can be virtual; the intensive days are in person in Fairfax, and many clients travel in from around the DMV.

Postpartum and EMDR therapist in Fairfax, VA. Motherhood is beautiful. It is also completely overstimulating. Let's unburden your nervous system.

Therapy for moms in Fairfax: support for the season you're in