A black and white illustration of a wheat plant with three wheat heads and long, slender leaves.

Monmouth County Counseling Services

Holistic therapeutic support for children, adolescents, young adults, and families.

Sandy beach with green grass and sea oats, overcast sky, and calm ocean in the background.

Welcome to Waterlily Counseling

HEALING BEGINS HERE

Everyone deserves a safe, supportive space to grow, explore, and heal. Using a collaborative, whole-person approach, we build emotional regulation, flexibility, communication, and confidence in our clients and provide caregivers with practical tools that lead to meaningful, lasting change.

Request a free consultation

Meet Sara Abbatiello

Clinical Social Worker / Therapist, LCSW

A woman with long dark hair smiling in front of window shutters.

Grounded in a person-in-environment framework and a systemic lens, I partner with children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and families who are navigating challenges such as Autism, ADHD, Mood Disorders, Anxiety, Depression, Learning Differences, Oppositional Behaviors, Self-Harm, and Family Conflict.

My holistic and collaborative approach considers the whole person and the full network around them — home, school, peers, community, and providers. Challenges rarely exist in isolation; they impact families, educational settings, and relationships. Working systemically is one of the most research-supported ways to create real, lasting change.

My background includes school mental health programs, higher-level care (IOP and PHP), community mental health, private adoption, and supervised visitation. These experiences have deepened my understanding of complex family systems, trauma, developmental differences, and major life transitions.

I guide my work with structure, compassion, and the belief that all behavior communicates something. My goal is to empower children to develop skills in emotional regulation, flexibility, and follow-through — while supporting caregivers with tools that reduce power struggles and foster positive growth.

THE WATERLILY WAY

The Pillars of our Practice

1. Connection First

A strong therapeutic relationship is the foundation of meaningful change. Every session is grounded in trust, rapport, and genuine connection: the most research-supported factor in effective treatment across all ages.

Line drawing of two hands clasped in a handshake.

2. Whole-Person, Whole-System Care

Well-being is influenced by more than symptoms. We consider biological, developmental, relational, and environmental factors, and collaborate with schools, medical providers, and community professionals to ensure coordinated, comprehensive support.

A simple line drawing showing a heart, a brain, and arrows connecting them, representing the relationship between heart and brain.

3. Creative, Hands-On Healing

Therapy should meet people where they are. Whether through play, expressive tools, or outside-the-box approaches, sessions are individualized, engaging, and tailored to each client’s needs, strengths, and communication style.

Illustration of two hands rinsing a sponge, with water droplets falling from it.

4. Empowerment Through Skills & Advocacy

Clients of all ages are active participants in their treatment. We value autonomy, provide psychoeducation, and equip individuals and families with practical tools that can be used beyond the therapy space — reinforcing growth, skill-building, and self-advocacy in everyday life.

Digital illustration of a sunrise or sunset with a semi-circle sun partially underground, and 8 rays extending outward, some of which are behind the sun and some in front, with a blue sky in the background.

Care that creates a transformative ripple effect.

  • A child shifting from BIG behaviors to expressing feelings with confidence –

    LIFE ALTERING

  • A mother leaving DV and creating safety for her child –

    BREAKING GENERATIONAL PATTERNS

  • A teen becoming self-harm free and successfully transitioning out of crisis care –

    A SECOND CHANCE

  • A child who once struggled academically now saying they love school –

    NEW FOUNDATIONS

  • A parent becoming sober for their child –

    EMPOWERMENT

  • A young adult with intense travel anxiety flying out of the country and returning engaged –

    RESILIENCE

  • A child with Autism learning how their brain works and navigating stress with success –

    SELF-ADVOCACY

  • A survivor of sexual abuse able to welcome physical closeness again –

    HEALING

Clinical Modalities Utilized

A Blend of Evidence-Based & Experiential Techniques: Our work integrates structured clinical approaches with expressive, creative, and body-based modalities — allowing clients of all ages to process experiences in the ways that suit them best.

Person planting or digging in sandy soil with their hands, wearing sneakers and outdoor clothing.

Sand Play Therapy

Based on Jungian psychology, Sand Play is an intensive, expressive modality useful across the lifespan. Using dry and wet sand and a curated collection of miniatures, clients create worlds that access the unconscious and allow for deep processing and insight. Sand Play helps with trauma, emotional awareness, creativity, coping, and communication.

Close-up of colorful building blocks arranged in a small structure.

Play Therapy

Play is a child’s natural language. Through toys, art, imagination, and storytelling, children express feelings, process experiences, develop coping skills, strengthen self-esteem, and work through grief, trauma, anxiety, school challenges, and family transitions. Sessions are always developmentally tailored and child-affirming.

Underwater view of water with light reflections and bokeh effect.

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR uses an eight-phase, structured protocol to help clients reprocess disturbing or traumatic memories and reduce emotional distress. This evidence-based approach blends multiple therapeutic traditions and often yields faster, more effective relief than traditional talk therapy.

A hillside with lush green grass and white wildflowers, with trees on the slope, overlooking a distant landscape with rolling hills and a cityscape in the background, under a clear sky.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT helps clients understand how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence one another. Through skill building, cognitive reframing, and structured tools, clients learn to manage stress, challenge unhelpful patterns, and create meaningful, practical change.

A lush green marshland with tall grasses and small pools of water, with a line of trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is an evidence-based approach designed to help individuals manage intense emotions, improve relationships, and make more effective choices. Originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder, DBT has since been shown to benefit anyone struggling with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, depression, trauma, or impulsive behaviors.

  • Dual-Diagnosis

  • Family Conflict

  • Grief

  • Infertility

  • Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD)

  • Parenting

  • Self-Harming

  • Sexual Abuse

  • Borderline Personality (BPD)

  • Caregivers

  • Child

  • Depression

  • Developmental Disorders

  • Divorce

  • Domestic Violence

  • ADHD

  • Adoption

  • Anxiety      

  • Autism

  • Behavioral Issues

  • Bipolar Disorder

  • Body Image

Specialities

OUR RESULTS

Life Altering

•

Breaking Generational Patterns

•

A Second Chance

•

Empowerment

•

Resilience

•

Self-Advocacy

Life Altering • Breaking Generational Patterns • A Second Chance • Empowerment • Resilience • Self-Advocacy

A sandy beach pathway leading through green grass to calm ocean water under a clear sky.

If you’re seeking a social worker who is hands-on, collaborative, creative, and deeply committed to the well-being of your child, family, or yourself – we would love to hear from you.