Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Sanders. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Before I was a licensed psychotherapist, I was working in a private practice, gaining my hours towards licensure. I was almost done with my hours but still had more to do. When I was hired at a private practice, my son was almost one year old. Up until that point of starting to work, I had stayed home with him. During my interview for my new job, the business owner/boss asked me how many hours I wanted to work. I told him I could only work part-time because I wanted to make sure I was home with my son as much as possible. He told me that was fine. And since he really wanted to hire me, he would work with my schedule. I was so excited to have found a therapy practice where I could work part-time and be home with my son so much. Everything was going really well and I was loving where I worked. Until one day the main office line started ringing more and more. So much more than the office had ever had in the past. My boss pulled me aside and asked if I’d start seeing more clients every week. I told him I wasn’t able to since I still wanted to be at home with my son a lot. He said it was fine and he’d have the other therapists see more clients each week. A few weeks passed and again my boss asked me to see more clients. He explained that they were getting so many calls and he needed me to work more. I again told him I wasn’t able to. This time he seemed annoyed and told me that I needed to work more. I reminded him that I wasn’t able to. He left bothered and a week later asked me to meet with him again. This time when we met he had a piece of paper and showed me all the math he had done. He explained to me what the numbers meant. He showed me in dollar form how much money he was losing by me continuing to work part-time. He again asked me to work more and told me he’d pay for a childcare provider for my son. I told him that it wasn’t about the expense of childcare. I felt frustrated and with tears in my eyes reminded him that being with my son was very important to me. He told me to think about working more and left the room. A couple weeks later he passed by me in the hall and nonchalantly told me that when I became licensed, I would no longer have a job at his company unless I was going to work full-time. I wasn’t surprised by his ultimatum but panicked inside. My income, even part-time hours, was important to my family and I felt a deep commitment to my current clients I had. I had always wanted to start my own private practice and become a small business owner but I was scared about all of the details with running my own business. Thankfully my husband knew a lot about starting a business and helped me dot my I’s and cross my T’s. And basically overnight, I started my own private practice once I became licensed. It was the best decision I could have made. Not only because I love being in private practice but also because my decision to stay committed to my values so early on in my career solidified my dedication to creating harmony between my personal life with my family and my professional life as a small business owner. And over 6 years later my private practice is still thriving and I still only work part-time.

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’m a licensed psychotherapist in California with a private practice. I became a psychotherapist because my therapist in college changed my life and I wanted to do the same for others. And last year I started a second business coaching Moms with Littles and helping them reconnect to themselves and their needs. As a Mom to two young kids myself, I know first-hand how difficult it is to balance your child’s needs with your own needs. Especially when your kids have a lot of needs or you have other areas where you give a lot to others. In the height of the pandemic when my inbox and voicemail were full of women reaching out for help, I decided I wanted to offer more support than I could in my private practice with seeing clients one on one. I love that I can now offer mothers a group coaching experience and teach them how to connect to their needs through their body, brain, and boundaries.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think besides training and knowledge, something that has been pivotal in my success is my ability to connect to my clients and see not only how their lives are impacted by their struggle but how to support them in improving their situation. When I meet with a client for the first time, I can see the bigger picture and how complicated their situation is as well as zoom in on them specifically and walk them through specific ways to start getting relief that same day. Because as busy moms, my clients need practical and actionable steps asap.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth. Because I’ve always worked part-time since becoming a mother, I really focus heavily on quality over quantity. My clients’ success is so important to me and my clients usually work with me for a long time. I have always considered it the highest honor when my current clients refer their friends or co-workers to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: centeredwithsarah.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centeredwithsarah/

Image Credits
Victoria Sjolander Photography