About Sable Arend, MS, LPC
At the heart of my work is the belief that healing happens in relationship. Not just by insight, but in the lived experience of being seen, responded to, and cared for in new ways.
Hi, I’m Sable.
Sable Arend, MS, LPC (they/them) | Licensed Professional Counselor | Advanced Trained Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist who is deeply committed to helping partners create more secure, connected relationships. I believe that healing happens in connection with others, and I'm passionate about supporting couples as they move beyond recurring cycles of conflict toward greater understanding, emotional safety, and lasting change. As a queer and neurodivergent therapist, I bring both professional expertise and lived experience to my work, with specialized experience supporting LGBTQIA+ relationships, neurodivergent couples, trauma, and consensually non-monogamous relationships.
The Heart of My Practice
We need care, safety, and loving connection to grow. Healing happens when we are met with compassion, acceptance, and support rather than judgment, evaluation, harshness, or criticism.
The work I do is grounded in attachment science, emotion, and the nervous system—exploring how we reach for connection, protect ourselves when it doesn't feel safe, and navigate our deep human longing for closeness, security, and belonging. I'm especially drawn to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) because it helps partners slow down the cycles they feel stuck in, understand what is happening beneath the conflict, and create new patterns of connection.
In our work together, there is no expectation that you show up in a certain way. We work with what is present, trusting that every emotion, reaction, and protective strategy developed for a reason. Together, we create the conditions where you and your relationships can soften, heal, and grow.
What I Bring with Me
My work is shaped by my clinical training and lived experience as a queer, nonbinary, AuDHD, disabled human. This lived experience informs how I sit with clients: with care around pacing in session, with respect for sensory and emotional overwhelm, and with deep attention to safety, consent, and collaboration.
I also bring a deep respect for difference. No two nervous systems, relationships, or histories are the same. We work together to find what actually fits you.
Outside of therapy, I’m often in my craft room working on fiber arts projects like crochet, macrame, embroidery, or cross stitch, or spending time with my spouse and our two cats, Ruby and Emmy. I also teach yoga, practice meditation, and am a Buddhist, which supports my ongoing relationship to presence, compassion, and impermanence.
Ruby (left, striped gray tabby) ; Emmy (right, dark solid gray)
Education & Clinical Training
Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, University of Pittsburgh
B.S. in Biokinetics with an emphasis in Exercise Science; B.A. in Philosophy
Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania
EFCT Training and Supervision
4-day EFCT Externship (Dr. Cindy Goodness Zane, Certified ICEEFT Trainer)
6-day Extended EFCT Core Skills (Dr. Cindy Goodness Zane, Certified ICEEFT Trainer)
4-day LGBTQ-Centered Externship as helper (Dr. Robert Allan and Dr. Sandra Taylor, Certified ICEEFT Trainers)
EFCT with Complex Trauma Training (Jef Slootmaeckers, LMFT, Certified ICEEFT Trainer)
Suicide Assessment in EFT (Rachel Thomas, LMHC, Certified ICEEFT Trainer)
EFCT and Sexual Cycle (George Faller, LMFT, EFT Trainer)
Ongoing EFCT supervision with certified EFCT supervisors
Yoga Teacher Training
Registered Yoga Teacher 200hr (Yoga Alliance)
200hr Yoga Teacher Training and Certification (Yoga & Ayurveda Center)
1-day Trauma-Sensitive Yoga training (Jenn Turner, Center for Trauma and Embodiment)
25hr Restorative Yoga Teacher Training (Yoga & Ayurveda Center)
25hr Chair Yoga Teacher Training (Yoga & Ayurveda Center)
Trauma Processing Yoga Group Levels 1 & 2 Training (Amy Battersby, LMHC, CTSC, RYT)
Additional Trainings
Brainspotting: Integrating the Neuroexperiential Model for Rapid Trauma Healing (Dr. David Grand)
Brainspotting Phase 1 for LGBTQ+ Professionals (John Edwards, LCSW, Certified Brainspotting Trainer)
2-Day Intensive Trauma Treatment Certification Workshop (Dr. Arielle Schwartz)
EMDR & Parts Work for Treating Complex Trauma (Dr. Arielle Schwartz)
Professional Membership
ICEEFT Lifetime Membership
Pittsburgh Community for EFT Membership
Board of Directors — Pittsburgh Community for EFT
Central PA Community for EFT Membership
American Counseling Association Professional Member
If something here feels right, I'd love to hear from you.
Reach out to schedule a free consultation and see if we might be a good fit or connect with me if you have any questions.
