We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Morales a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I basically fell in to the career I’m now in. My story is out there in many forms, including my podcast, so I feel comfortable saying that my LIFE changed trajectory the day the FBI showed up at my house and took away my then husband. Fortunately, I had people in my life that could point me to the specialized help I needed. It was there the coach that was helping me saw my gift, and encouraged me to pursue becoming a coach myself. Fast forward about two years, and I was working for a therapist in Austin, TX. He hired me to help create a program to support the wives of the sexually addicted men he saw in his practice. Being a huge empath, I wanted so badly to meet the needs of the women that I was coaching. This meant I wanted to learn about and do ALLLL the things. While I was helping a lot of people, I wasn’t in my zone of genius… I was more like a pinball in a pinball machine… I was being reactive to my clients’ needs. Again, while this wasn’t horrible, I wasn’t truly stepping in to my power and magic. This changed the day my boss told me he wanted me to help one of the other therapists do an intensive on the topic of gaslighting. This was in 2013, and it wasn’t the buzzword it is today. I had never heard of it. In order to prepare for the intensive, and bring my perspective and experience into things, the therapist handed me the book, “The Gaslight Effect”, by Dr. Robin Stern. GAME CHANGER. This was the day the trajectory of my career was not just changed, but AMPLIFIED! I had never felt more validated in my life. This was what I had experienced for 16 years in my first marriage (at the time of reading the book), and now, I had a name and a way to understand what had happened and why. That was almost 10 years ago, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve dedicated almost an entire decade to studying the nuances of gaslighting, and helping many, many people along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I think my last story shares how I got in to my industry.

As far as products, I have a free video series on the basics of understanding what gaslighting is, who does it, why they do it, and typical effects on those they do it to. I have an on-line course that is an immersive, 12-week experience that people can do on their own (or with their therapist), with me in a group format, or with me in 1:1 coaching sessions. I also have a podcast called Deconstructing Gaslighting.

In a nutshell, I help simplify a complex experience (gaslighting), so that people can understand it, see when it’s happening, and break the patterns that are almost always a part of that experience. What sets me apart is how I approach this topic (it’s not just narcissists that gaslight, but rather a human behavior that people do for a variety of motives and levels of awareness). I also take it to the place of helping people connect it to how they’ve taken it on over the years, internalized it, and are now gaslighting themselves. With this awareness, my clients find freedom from not only toxic relationships – but the freedom to find their most authentic selves.

To say what I am most proud of, I would like to quote Plato: “The greatest privilege of a human life is to become a
midwife to the awakening of the Soul in another person”. I have seen this happen time and time again in my work with my clients. My tagline on my podcast is, “Remember – it’s not about becoming who you want to be; it’s awakening to all that you already are.” I would want my fans/followers/potential clients to know that this is my dream and goal for every interaction that I have with my clients/podcast guests – that a part of them is awakened in each interaction with me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had been working as a coach in a therapy practice for four years. For awhile, it was exactly what I needed – a safe, reliable, consistent place to work, learn, and grow. I did many things/wore many hats for that practice – I did billing, scheduling, ran small groups and did individual sessions – I even did group coaching in their inpatient treatment facility. I started to feel stifled. I knew I was meant for more – to DO more. I liked the safety of the practice, so I asked for a raise that I felt reflected where I was going with my individual sessions and programs I had been creating. While my boss greatly valued me (he had been a great encourager and supporter of me as I grew into who I am, and believed in me/my gifts before I fully believed in myself), he didn’t feel the company could afford the raise I was asking for. Even though I was a single mom with no financial support from my kids’ father, I resigned from that position and started Sarah Morales Coaching. That was five years ago, and I’ve been honing and growing my private practice ever since.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

In my field – actually, in my niche of coaching people who are in a relationship where there is gaslighting or their partner is either a sex addict/been guilt of infidelity – I think it is most helpful to know how to hold space for the client. People heal and move through grief and awareness at a wide range of speed. This means showing up with compassion, empathy, patience, validation, encouragement – and knowing when each thing is needed. Extra points if you have life experience and can also give solidarity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahmoralescoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmoralescoaching/ (or @sarahmoralescoaching)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahMoralesCoaching (or Sarah Morales Coaching)
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-morales-2a326380/ (or Sarah Morales Coaching)
• Twitter: N/A
• Yelp: N/A
• Other: TikTok: @SassySarahDeconstructs (https://www.tiktok.com/@sassysarahdeconstructs?lang=en)