Last updated: October 20, 2026

Growth & Gold LLC is a small press based in North Carolina. Its books, digital products, quiz, newsletter, and blog are written and created by Sara Fachetti. This page explains who Sara is professionally, what our work is and isn’t, and how the ethical standards of the counseling profession shape it. Please read it before relying on anything we offer.

Who Sara Is:

Sara is a graduate student in a CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program. She is not a licensed professional counselor, therapist, psychologist, or other licensed mental health provider. She does not provide counseling or therapy services through Growth & Gold.

As a counselor-in-training, Sara follows the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics, and she has built Growth & Gold to align with its standards for public education, product representation, and professional boundaries. When Sara’s professional status changes, this page will be updated to reflect her current credentials accurately.

Views are her own. Sara’s graduate program and university are not affiliated with Growth & Gold, and they have not reviewed or endorsed its content. The views expressed in our books, newsletter, and other materials are Sara’s own.

What Our Work Is:

Growth & Gold creates educational and self-reflection resources about core emotional needs, relationships, and related psychological topics. Our materials are meant to help you understand yourself and others, put language to your experience, and think through what you need.

What Our Work Is Not

Nothing Growth & Gold offers is counseling, therapy, diagnosis, treatment, or professional advice tailored to you. This includes our books, digital products, the What’s Missing? quiz, Ask Sara, our blog, and our social media. Using our materials does not create a counselor–client or other professional relationship with Sara or Growth & Gold, and it doesn’t replace care from a licensed professional.

If you are struggling with your mental health, relationships, trauma, substance use, or safety, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional. Our materials can be a helpful companion to therapy, but they are not a substitute for it. Yet, what our materials and therapy both have in common is that the end goal is to always help you help yourself in the way that seems best to you at the time. Psychoeducation simply helps you to better discern what’s best.

The What’s Missing? Quiz

The quiz is a starting point for self-reflection. It is not a psychological assessment, screening tool, or diagnostic instrument, and it has not been scientifically validated. Your result reflects your answers at one point in time and is meant to prompt reflection, not to label you or anyone in your life. Please don’t use quiz results to make clinical, medical, legal, or other major decisions. Professionals should not use the quiz as an assessment tool with clients.

Ask Sara

Ask Sara answers selected questions in general, educational terms. Submitting a question does not create a professional relationship, and responses are not individualized advice or an assessment of you or anyone you describe. Questions are not answered privately, and submissions are not monitored for emergencies. Submissions are not protected by the confidentiality that applies to counseling. See our Privacy Policy for how they are handled.

Our Framework and Research

Our work centers on a framework Sara has developed: unmet core emotional needs drive all other derivative psychological issues with the exception of genetic mental health disorders. This framework draws on established research and theory, including self-determination theory, schema therapy, appraisal theories of emotion, and research on social pain and human motivation.

To be transparent, this framework is Sara’s own synthesis and perspective. It is not a standard clinical model or an established consensus within the psychology and counseling fields. We cite our sources so you can evaluate the research yourself. Full citations are on our Research page.

Research evolves, and so will our work. If you notice an error, please let us know at info@growthandgold.com.

Cultural Context

Emotional needs are universal, but how they’re expressed, met, and understood is shaped by culture, family, identity, and circumstance. Our materials are written from one perspective and can’t capture every reader’s experience. Take what fits, leave what doesn’t, and trust your own understanding of your life and context.

Products and Professional Boundaries

• Accurate representation. We describe every product honestly, including what it is, what it includes, and what it is not, so you can make an informed decision.

• Testimonials. We do not solicit testimonials or reviews from anyone who is or has been in a counseling relationship with Sara, or from anyone in a situation where they might feel pressured to provide one.

• No promotion within counseling. When Sara becomes a practicing counselor, she will not use counseling relationships to promote or sell Growth & Gold products to her clients.

• Buying our products doesn’t create a relationship. Being a customer, subscriber, or reader does not make you a client, and it doesn’t entitle you to counseling services.

Professionals Using Our Materials

Clinicians, coaches, and educators who purchase a Professional or Practice & Group license are solely responsible for deciding whether our materials are clinically appropriate for their clients. Our materials are educational resources. They are not treatment protocols, clinical interventions, or validated instruments, and our licensing does not imply that Growth & Gold endorses any professional or practice. See our Terms of Service for license details.

Social Media and Messages

We may share educational content on social media at some point, but we don’t provide advice, assessment, or crisis support through comments, direct messages, or email. Please don’t send personal crisis information through these channels, because messages may not be seen right away.

Content Notice

Our work addresses difficult subjects, including childhood experiences, emotional pain, relationships, and conflict. It is written in a direct voice that includes strong language, including sometimes “profanity.” If something brings up more than you can handle on your own, please pause and reach out for support.

If You Need Help Now

• In crisis or thinking about harming yourself or someone else: call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call 911.

• Prefer to text: text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line).

• Looking for a therapist: directories like Psychology Today let you search by location, specialty, and insurance.

Questions

For questions about these disclosures, contact info@growthandgold.com.