About
Sara A. Showalter Van Tongeren, is a board certified licensed clinical social worker in the states of Michigan, New York, and Virginia and is a graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work in Richmond, Virginia.
She is co-author of The Courage to Suffer and co-author of the forthcoming book Sacred Unraveling: A Therapist’s Guide to Helping Clients Navigate Religious and Spiritual Change (August 2026). Sara has also contributed scholarly and theoretical work exploring the Existential Positive Psychology Model of Suffering and a model for Existential Hope.
Sara has more than twenty years of clinical social work experience in settings such as private practice, foster care, inpatient hospitals and outpatient medical clinics, inter-partner violence shelters, and behavioral health. She has a deep passion to help people cultivate a sense of meaning and develop narratives of resilience following trauma, grief and loss, unexpected life events, and religious and spiritual struggles. Sara specializes in trauma and attachment focused therapy, mindfulness, existential psychotherapy, narrative therapy, liberation psychology, brainspotting, and acceptance commitment therapy.
Sara won the 2020 Social Justice Award given by the City of Holland for her work in helping to pass the city’s first Non-Discrimination Ordinance.
She provides consultation for therapists seeking to deepen both their clinical work and their development as therapists, with specialized focus on existential positive psychology and supporting clients through religious and spiritual change.
In addition to consulting services, Sara is the founder of The Flourishing Collective, a Telehealth-based group practice and leads Therapist Centered Groups Consultation for therapists worldwide. Sara work with adults who find themselves at identity crossroads often shaped by experiences of suffering, loss, transition, or spiritual change. She supports clients in reconnecting with their sense of self, deepening empowerment, and cultivating meaningful, values-driven lives. Sara also specializes in working with helping professionals, including therapists, physicians, and clergy, who are navigating burnout, identity development, or vocational and existential questions. If you are interested in working with Sara via Telehealth or a therapist wanting to join The Flourishing Collective, please fill out the contact form.