We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Fargo O’brien recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
Before starting my private practice, I spent almost 9 years serving adults with severe mental illness in public mental health agencies. These were not easy jobs, and the pay was abysmal compared to years of education and field experience and/or licensure status. Often, conditions for boots-on-the-ground clinical social workers were not very safe and there was little supervision or support. My very first job required going into clients’ homes and helping them maintain skills for independent living. In the city of Richmond, Virginia the marginalized and disenfranchised mentally ill adults on fixed incomes could not afford to live in nice, safe places, unfortunately. Which also meant I was going to these unsafe places regularly to do work with my clients. No one at my place of employment seemed to be that concerned with the safety of field social workers, and little to zero training was given to help social workers navigate these challenges of the job. Needless to say, my keen perception and self-proclaimed ‘street smarts’ served me well in this position, despite lack of adequate leadership.
Fast forward a bit to the next community mental health position I had as an outpatient clinician assigned to work with dually diagnosed adults (diagnosed with both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder). Upper management was even worse in this position, and care and concern for the clinician also seemed to be grossly lacking. Some of the challenges of this position included visits to the jail for incarcerated clients (alone); assigned to overnight on-call shifts for crisis intervention and TDO assessments (temporary detainment order- involuntary hospitalization for unsafeness due to mental illness; also alone); working with clients who had threatened me (alone); many unethical decisions by senior leadership that I was required to carry out; often lack of support or consideration for me as a human being, as everything is about “units” and “dollars” and “billing.” So, the most important lesson I learned (well maybe two lessons) are this: 1) Always advocate for yourself and your needs at work, especially if things feel unsafe or unethical and 2) CYA on everything! Which means document everything your supervisor instructs you to do to protect yourself in the event things go south. Why? Because I have seen first-hand where supervisors, and supervisor’s supervisors have thrown providers under the bus to save their own skin. I learned that a career in mental health was a bit like a dog-eat-dog kind of world, at least in public agencies, and you had to work smarter, not harder, to navigate the terrible system in which we, mental health providers, required to work to maintain our own sanity, and to gain any longevity in this profession. This has helped me throughout my professional career by allowing me to stay true to myself and my values WHILE ALSO continuing to do this important work that serves others when they likely are at their most vulnerable.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, I’m am Army brat who move around a lot when I was young. This led to me becoming adaptable and flexible, and learning how to connect with people no matter where I was. I have always been studious and disciplined, as I always had big dreams and career goals. I excelled immensely in academics, from high school Valedictorian, to Summa Cum Laude in college, to 4.0 GPA as I finished graduate school. Since high school, I knew I wanted to be a therapist, and that I wanted to own my own practice one day, and this is what I wrote my college entrance essay about. Go figure, I’m living that dream now!
I got into mental health treatment via a lot of interest in psychology, the human mind and human behavior. Basically, I was enamored with understanding why people do the things they do. I was on a quest to figure it out. My psychology and sociology classes were incredibly interesting, so I was hooked. This would be my direction, so now let’s see it all the way through. To make it here, though, as an independent practitioner, meant doing well in high school to get into a good college; and then doing well there to get into graduate school; and doing well there, to, well, graduate, and then be appealing to potential employers. You can say I was goal-oriented, motivated, dedicated, and diligent throughout these 10 years of education. Why though? Because I wanted out! I wanted out of my home life and family system. I wanted to be independent and rely less, if at all, on my family of origin. Growing up in a toxic and neglectful family system left me with a lot of childhood trauma and developmental wounds. Little did I know how significant this would be so much later in my career.
About 13 years into my post-graduate direct-practice career, and about 7 years into my private practice work specifically, and after the initial wave of the COVID 19 pandemic (and several other life stressors), I was near burnout. The whole reason I do this work is because I feel incredibly privileged to walk with clients through some of their worst and darkest moments, and often see them come out on the other side. I love working with people! If I don’t have capacity and energy for that, well then I’m not doing anyone any favors. I realized I needed to pull back from doing direct psychotherapy work 5 days a week, and pivot into other areas of business to increase creativity, critical thinking, professional growth, and interest in my work again. I also needed to pull back from doing so much therapy for my own mental health and leave room for a deep dive into healing all that childhood trauma.
I had absolutely no idea how I would do this, what it would look like, what other work I could do with this kind of experience, and where and how to find it. But I started anyway. I took a short class on ‘pivoting from clinical work’ and that led me to a very important and significant resource: Help A Reporter Out (at the time, known as HARO). I started submitting contributions to mental health related articles and by November 2022 I had my first external publication! It was exciting. I always enjoyed writing (fun fact: I wanted to be a journalist before wanting to be a therapist) and always had aspirations to write my own book one day. I started submitting as many contributions as I could…and I started to stack up publications. I decided “I can do this on my own! I’m going to start writing blogs.” And I did. Then I started writing articles for an online community for licensed mental health professionals, and then became an ambassador for that organization, which led me to meeting one of the most wonderful people in the world! She and I naturally connected, developed a relationship, and started working together on collaborative projects. Again, fast forward just a few months and I’m connected to an absolutely wonderful community of badass trauma informed professionals and, then, more doors started to open.
My mentors in that network are trail-blazing trauma informed baddies, and I’m absolutely privileged to work with the best! The founder of this organization was the first to offer me paid work in writing, and has given me many opportunities to use all of my skills, including all of my people/behavior-reading skills. Being a vetted and verified Trauma Informed Professional & Provider was the catalyst to opening many new doors for me professionally. Today, I not only still have my private practice and see clients 3 days a week, but I have also started another business: Thrive & Shine Coaching & Consulting. Through this second side of business I get to do many things that tap into my creativity, writing skills, analytical skills, critical thinking, strategic planning, and trauma informed leadership roles. Today I carry more titles than just: Licensed Clinical Social Worker or psychotherapist (or small business owner). I am also the Chief Mental Health Officer for a mental health advocacy and international community; I am a published best selling author (and my second anthology will drop before year’s end!); I am a social impact catalyst and analyst; I am a Subject Matter Expert in mental health disorders & treatment, trauma informed care, and trauma informed leadership; I am a trauma informed leadership strategist, content creator, website designer, and social media manager; and just recently I have been appointed the Director of Student Wellness for a non-profit organization committed to helping reskill folks that employers have looked over and assist them with landing living wage jobs in catering. All of these new roles have invigorated my soul and have helped me find a more balanced work life, and therefore, moving me away from burnout.
Basically, my brand is trauma informed care and leadership. Everything I do is through a trauma informed lens, and using these principles and practices for every interaction I have with people, whether direct client work or collaborative projects with value-aligned professionals. It’s also how I do everything for business: design and maintain my website; produce content and manage social media; create digital products (yes! I have several Compassionate Self Kits that are trauma-informed e-books for Setting Boundaries, Self-Care, Burnout Awareness, & Burnout Recovery); market my services; host my podcast- The Healing Hour, literally everything is trauma informed, and trauma informed is a how, not a what. So, it’s how I interact and engage to create professional and personal community for myself, how I conduct coffee chats and business meetings, how I disseminate information and display content. I am most proud of doing this important work at a critical time. I have lived, and worked, with an ethical standard that is above reproach, and it has been intentional. I aim to educate as many people as possible on the principles of trauma informed care in all places & spaces where there are people, as this is not a clinical skill, but a human-to-human skill, by design it is to reduce harm and increase pathways for emotional, psychological, and physical safety. This is something we all need. This is something we all benefit from. I educate, guide, support, speak, train, and collaborate with authenticity, transparency, and integrity. I have been determined to be my full self everywhere these days, and that includes at work!
So, if you want a down to earth, real-talk, straight shooting, trauma informed, and incredibly empathetic provider/professional/coach/consultant then I am your person! I get hyped up when people I love, or people I love working with, do great things. I am a natural cheerleader and motivator towards change. If that’s what you’re looking for, then let’s connect!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Really, my whole story is one of resilience. Most likely wouldn’t guess it, but I have lived a difficult life from start to now. I grew up in an emotionally abusive and neglectful environment, where I never felt loved or cared for. I am the survivor of many different traumas including sexual assault, physical abuse, domestic violence, and traumatic death and grief; and many of these occurred before I was age 25. Without my own fortitude and resilience, I would literally not be where I am right now. My therapist often tells me I am the most resilient person he’s ever known, which is saying a lot for someone with Complex PTSD who often has felt as though she’s just drowning in the shit of life. Being a licensed clinical social worker is no cake-walk either. I actually incurred more trauma from those abysmal early social work jobs, and instead of leaving the field entirely, I pivoted at that time to start the practice. Years later, I’m pivoting again. A line from a song by one of my favorite artists is “Life is all about the bounce back. Gotta take some losses if you’re really gonna win.” I’ve bounced back more times than I can count now. The terms “grit,” “fighter,” “moxie,” and “badass” have been used to describe me by those that are closest, and I tend to agree.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Some of my reputation comes from the credibility verified by my years of higher education and meeting the necessary standards for independent practice in both Virginia and Maryland for clinical social work. Then, it’s providing good care to those struggling with mental health disorders, both in community mental health settings and in outpatient private practice. Most of my client referrals for psychotherapy treatment at this time come from other clients for whom I’ve provided treatment, so I believe that in and of itself is a testament to my reputation as a sound and ethical therapist. I’ve been practicing independently as a one-woman-show & solopreneur for over 8 years as a licensed psychotherapist without having any complaints or sanctions on my license(s); never experienced any major claw backs from insurance; have not experienced any major loss of revenue due to client refusal to pay; and I did it all without a business degree, without ever taking a business class, and never hiring a business coach or business attorney.
As a Trauma Informed Leadership strategist, I believe my reputation is also built by how I work and the work I produce. Both of these have been vetted and verified with a network of other professionals on the same value-aligned professional path with the same clear goal of increasing trauma informed care in all places, for all people. When other legitimate and powerful professionals back you up, it tends to boost the reputation. I appreciate my colleagues and mentors for both offering guidance, as well as, giving me opportunities to showcase my skills, all while supporting me both publicly and behind the scenes.
Finally, being my authentic (and messy, imperfect) self, and intentionally showing up that way as a Trauma Informed Professional allows others to see the real me. The ability to be authentic, transparent, honest while also making mistakes, struggling in conflict, and working out ripples in interpersonal relationships allows others to see exactly what working with me, in any capacity, will be like. Whether I’m front-facing on my podcast or being interviewed, or writing articles and training programs, or back stage before the show begins, or in a coffee chat or meeting, or in the psychotherapy space with my clients, the same Sarah shows up. I will be myself, and I will be trauma informed, and you can take that to the bank and cash it! Basically, my reputation is me; it’s what I say; it’s what I do; it’s how I do it; and it’s who I do it with along the way. And since I interface and have the opportunity to work with, and collaborate with, and partner with, so many different kinds of people, I have a whole giant network of folks that have helped me build the reputation that I have as a professional and as a leader. My work, and the time I spend with people, speaks for itself, and I’m grateful that so many dynamic professionals have experienced me, as is, and support the work I’m doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarahobrienlcsw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timelesstherapist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThriveShineCounseling
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahobrienlcsw/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TimelessTherapist
- Other: Marquis Who’s Who Press Release: https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/514403/marquis-whos-who-honors-sarah-ef-obrien-licensed-clinical-psychotherapist-for-expertise-in-mental-wellnessIntegrate Trauma Informed Network/TI Leader: https://busy-wind-8b6.notion.site/d0c13350a9e04caca1be5f30eaae5c6d?v=55ee341e859345abb07be75e0be9e001&p=a1278094b54e443ab6564bf123a4c35e&pm=cOnline store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/SOBThrive/shop?asc=u
Image Credits
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