Zaza Sakhat (she/her), LICSW & SEP is the founder and owner of Chrysalis Therapy & Wellness, a psychotherapy private practice that provides integrative, holistic clinical treatment for promoting child, adolescent, and family mental health and well-being since 2015 serving the Worcester area and across Massachusetts. The mission of the practice is to foster the healing process of children, adolescents, and families as they transform through experiencing safe and therapeutic relationships to overcome adversity, trauma, and maladaptive behaviors. The practice provides effective psychotherapeutic treatment models needed for clients to achieve their goals through accessing individual, group, and family therapy.
Being committed to social justice and activism, Zaza has an MSW from Boston University’s School of Social Work (2004) with a background in working with survivors of domestic violence and rape crisis counseling, as well as with children in public schools, residential, and community settings. She has also clinically trained and supervised social work students from the various schools in the Boston area. She has served as co-chair of a committee through the National Association of Social Workers supporting and empowering social workers of color in continuing to work towards justice and change. She also has offered clinical consultation services to local non-profit organizations and public schools for the students with interrupted formal educational programs. Zaza has guest lectured for Lesley University on trauma and adolescents. Having served as a board member for the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG) MA chapter, she has presented at the Symposiums in Boston as well as the MA chapter conferences, North Carolina, and NYC. She has also given talks at UMASS Boston and Assumption College in the clinical counseling psychology departments on engaging adolescent girls in clinical practice to include group work with refugee children. She has also presented on children in distress at local charity events as well as served on the Burma Task Force as a clinical specialist on adolescent female rape survivors. In addition, she has presented on the treatment of adolescent girls with eating disorders to local non-profits as well as for the Boston University School of Social Work Professional Education Program.
Stemming from a strength based body-psychotherapy perspective while using play and expressive art therapies as well as cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapies, and Somatic Experiencing, as theoretical approaches have proven to provide the best outcomes in healing and growth. In addition to working with trauma, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders, she also facilitates a Teen Girls Group throughout the school year, and runs Raising Girls, a parenting workshop series for parents of teen girls, plus other variation of services at her private practice to include working with populations such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. She is a former chair of the local private practice shared interest group for the National Association for Social Worker MA chapter, and presented on taking a leap of faith into private practice at the MA chapter Symposium. She is also currently a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner since 2022, and is approved to assist at the Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced training levels through Somatic Experiencing International. She is also approved as a Personal Sessions Provider at the beginning level. Zaza is clinically licensed in both Massachusetts and New York. She uses mindfulness meditation and yoga practice to guide her path in life.
