We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Baroud a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Though no parent is perfect, my parents did a lot of things right. My mom died over 12 years ago, and she continues to be with me every day. My mom encouraged critical thinking and creativity in all she did. She was an elementary school teacher for over two decades. She was not a fan of testing students and focused more on projects that allowed students to figure things out on their own and challenged their problem solving skills. My dad also has a creative side, though it showed in different ways. My dad is a more technical thinker, tinkering with tools and puzzles to make things better. He always manages to find a way to fix anything that is broken, even if that means re-purposing items. These skills of tinkering and creative thinking have stuck with me from childhood through my current work. I apply this passion for problem solving and creative thinking to my clients. How can I meet them where they are and work together to improve their mental health, relationships or other challenges.
Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was an English major in college and (to no one’s surprise) wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduation. I was accepted into the AmeriCorps volunteer program and was placed in Philadephia for a year of service at a homeless shelter for teenagers. This life-changing experience propelled me on the social work path I was probably already on. In middle and high school I did lots of volunteer work and was voted ‘most likely to save the world’ in our yearbook. After my year in Philadelphia, I wanted to dive deeper and a friend suggested I apply for graduate school for social work. I did so, was accepted to Simmons University in Boston and graduated in 2010 with my Master in Social Work. I did in-home therapy, outpatient therapy and program development with children and families for the next 11 years. Through the pandemic, I realized that I wanted a change in lifestyle with our two young children and desired a shift in my career focus. In summer 2021, I started my own private practice with a focus in perinatal mental health. I offer virtual individual and couples therapy, as well as a writing group and have been fortunate to be invited for several speaking engagements and workshops over the last year and a half.
Having dealt with my own postpartum mental health struggles after the birth of my two babies, I found out the hard way there was not enough support for new parents in the mental health world. Babies get all of the attention – several appointments, gifts, and lots of care – while the new parents, moms in particular are often expected to “bounce back” and carry on raising their new baby, perhaps returning to work out of the home and maintain social connections. I want perinatal mental health care to be more commonplace, easy to access and without stigma.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
One of the biggest things I’ve worked on since I started my business has been my mindset. For me, this has meant challenging my own stories of financial success and self worth. Imposter syndrome creeps up more than I would like, so I have had to have tools ready to bat it away. Though journaling, mantras, a strong support network and simply going for it, I have grown a lot in this area.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
I don’t think so! Here’s the deal – I am interested in people. So I definitely have times where I think, “wow, I wonder what it would be like to be a librarian, or an arborist, or a nurse.” I am a curious person and ask lots of questions. Though while I’m interested in lots of things, I think it’s my passion for getting to know people that makes social work the right profession for me. One thing I love about social work is that it is flexible. My passion right now is the perinatal population and supporting new moms. Though if that changes, I’m confident I can grow into new areas with as much success, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarahbaroudlicsw.com
- Instagram: @practicemakespresent
- Linkedin: Sarah Baroud
Image Credits
Headshot: Corinne Isabelle Photography