We recently connected with Sarah Baum and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

This is a story about two U turns that ended me back, full circle, to exactly where I wanted to be. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I got my degree in Clinical Psychology and always wanted to work within the field of mental health to directly help others. My dream was to be in private practice, but they don’t teach you how to start a business in graduate school, and honestly starting a business at 23 is really scary. So, I had been working in community mental health for some time when an upward career move for my husband uprooted our family to Northern California from Southern. This move meant a new job, which is always daunting, especially early on in your career. I was newly licensed after completing my 3000 hours of internship and 2 state board exams. One of the jobs I had applied for was to provide mental health services to children who were special education identified, in their schools. I quickly was hired and began the journey of school mental health. As this was a new program in California, we were building as we worked and shortly thereafter I was hired to run the program. U turn number one. From direct mental health support to managing a team of therapists in their direct service. Over time I even took a larger role in special education as a program specialist for all special education services and not just mental health. I loved this role, I loved my team. I was happy.
And then my second U turn hit, this was another move for my husband as he continue to rise in his career. We moved out of state to Arizona, where the monetary value on teachers and education is much different than in California. There was no real way to parlay my career at the same pay structure as I was on in California.
I decided to go back to my dream of private practice. I found another wonderful therapist, who I actually had a LOT in common with. We were both from California and even went to the same grad school! I joined her practice and she really was able to mentor me in a lot of ways in terms of the business end of things. Shortly after I felt the confidence in what I had learned about the business side to venture out and start my own business.
Two U-turns is really full circle back to my dream. I am currently working in my own practice in North Scottsdale.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I run a solo practice in North Scottsdale. I see women and couples in person and virtually. I love what I do, I love my clients. My tag line is I see all women, through all ages and stages. I probably should narrow it down, but as women we really do go through a lot in our life cycle. I am honored by my role to walk with women through these painful parts that can be difficult to navigate, helping them to find the light and feel peace again. Women come to me for many reasons. Some typical clients I have are young women trying to find their way in the world and navigating those early years of self exploration. Moms! Moms with post partum anxiety and depression. Moms struggling with their identify. Working moms who feel guilty. Stay at home moms who need some support. Women navigating through divorce or the loss of a partner. Women who are recognizing that their parents were not totally healthy people and how they can have some awareness and insight on how this shapes who we are, make happy healthy changes, and not do the same to their own children.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Yes, yes 100 times yes. I know that sounds crazy. While my husband is over here trying to retire early, I don’t know if I will ever retire. With the gift of technology I could one day be sitting on the beach of Costa Rica while serving the women back in the states. The beauty of therapy, for me, is that it is a job that is rewarding and without limits.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

It pains me to hear when someone has a poor experience in therapy, but the truth is really that it comes down to connection. I think that connecting with people on a human level is the best thing I can do for them. Clients can be turned off or away from therapy when they see therapists who are cold or feel prescribed. When you come sit in my office or virtually with me I will always work to meet you where you are first and foremost. I had a therapist once who spent the whole first assessment asking me questions. This was maddening for me, I was paying privately for this session and it felt like answering those questions was more important with connecting with me. I do need those answers too, but I send them out ahead of time so we don’t waste any time with that connection piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahbaumtherapy.com
• Instagram: @sarahbaummft
• Facebook: facebook.com/sarahbaumtherapy