Sarah commenced her social work career in 2007, and has been working therapeutically for 16 years. Sarah started out her career in casework and non government/government organisations, mainly working with childhood abuse and trauma, and more recently in perinatal mental health. Over the years, she has undertaken alot of extra study to specialise in counselling and therapy.

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The more Sarah has worked with people, the more aware she has become that the most important factor in counselling, is a trusting therapeutic relationship where people feel deeply seen, heard and understood without judgment. Sarah knows that goodness of fit is a very personal decision, and takes time to build this trust. 

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Over many years, Sarah has felt frustrated that the legacy of early life trauma continues to deeply impact women in adulthood, and these patterns can be very difficult to shift, as they run deep. She has seen the long term impact of trauma on women's mental health, emotions, behaviours and relationships. She wanted more tools to support people to heal from this at a much deeper level.

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This led her to undertake a masters degree and extra study and supervision in Schema Therapy, DBT, EMDR and Relationally Integrative EMDR. Through these ways of working, Sarah has learnt that trauma is an embodied experience, and as such, requires more than just talk therapy. She has also developed a deep commitment to supporting women to make things different for the next generation, supporting women to heal deeply from the past, to then pass on a different legacy to their own children. She has undertaken training in Circle of Security Parenting to facilitate this shift for women.

 

Through these ways of working, she can tailor an approach that fits for each woman. Firstly, this involves having a non judgmental space to be heard, seen and understood. She also works collaboratively with women to teach them skills to manage intense emotion. When people feel ready, she has skills to support people to process distressing memories and beliefs at a deeper level, to reduce the impact that they have on their life in the present time.

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Sarah chose to study social work, after being deeply moved whilst undertaking international volunteer work as a 19 year old. Originally a law student with an interest in social justice, she shifted her focus to working at the individual level following her first university placement in child psychiatry, where she learnt about  the psychology of trauma and attachment, as she discovered that early life experiences, even preverbal experiences, can shape people’s deeply held beliefs about themselves, life and relationships. She realised that this in turn can become the template that they live their life by, and pass on to the next generation. Throughout her career, Sarah has become more and more passionate about helping people heal from early life experiences, and changing intergenerational patterns.

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Sarah has a deep commitment to inclusive, culturally safe and sensitive practice, and recognises the way that societal factors can shape the identities of women, especially women who have experienced trauma or are from diverse backgrounds. She is also committed to accessible, affordable mental health care.