Sara Rettig builds therapy practice focused on women’s identity and self-trust

Sara Rettig, a New Jersey therapist and Licensed Social Worker, is using Connect & Reflect Therapy LLC to help women work through anxiety, motherhood, trauma, divorce and major life changes. Her approach centers on understanding the patterns behind guilt, overthinking and people-pleasing so clients can rebuild self-trust.

Why it matters: - Women carrying family, work and relationship responsibilities often lose sight of their own needs, and Sara Rettig’s practice is built to help them reconnect with themselves. - Connect & Reflect Therapy LLC focuses on the real-life impact of anxiety, postpartum changes, trauma, divorce and major transitions on women’s identity and decision-making. - The practice aims to turn therapy into a place where clients can rebuild self-trust and make choices that fit who they are now.

What happened: - Sara Rettig, LSW, LCADC, was profiled by Influential Women for her work as the founder of Connect & Reflect Therapy LLC in New Jersey. - Rettig works with women navigating anxiety, motherhood, postpartum changes, divorce, trauma and major life transitions. - The profile highlights Rettig’s focus on helping clients understand why they feel disconnected, overwhelmed or stuck in repeating patterns.

The details: - Rettig said many clients arrive knowing something feels off but cannot fully explain why. - Her work centers on helping women understand overthinking, people-pleasing, guilt, boundary struggles and second-guessing as learned coping patterns. - Rettig uses a person-centered, trauma-informed and conversational style. - Her clinical toolkit includes cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness and EMDR-informed techniques. - Rettig said she wants clients to leave sessions with a clearer understanding of themselves, not just a long conversation. - She often helps women examine boundaries, long-held beliefs and guilt that may not reflect wrongdoing. - Motherhood is a major theme in her practice, especially for women who love their children but feel like they have lost part of themselves. - Rettig says women can love being a mom and still miss who they were before motherhood.

Between the lines: - Rettig’s message is that many “personal flaws” are actually survival strategies that made sense in earlier stages of life. - Her framing shifts therapy away from self-blame and toward curiosity about how patterns formed and whether they still serve a purpose. - Her own life experiences with loss, motherhood, relationship changes, divorce, career transitions and starting over appear to shape that perspective. - The “pick your hard” idea she uses reflects a practical view of change: staying stuck can be painful, and growth can be painful too.

What's next: - Rettig is completing training in EMDR, which may expand how she works with trauma-related concerns. - She is continuing to grow Connect & Reflect Therapy as a space where women can slow down, identify what they need and decide what comes next. - More information is available through Sara Rettig’s Influential Women profile or Connect & Reflect Therapy.

The bottom line: - Rettig’s practice is built around one idea: women do not need to perform strength all the time; they need space to understand themselves and trust their own voice again.