My Testimony
Hello! My name is Sarah. Thank you for visiting our website.
As a Christian, I have made many mistakes along life's path. As like every one of us, I am not perfect, I am a sinner and I have let God down in many ways, and time and time again. But I believe that through the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus paid my debt in His Blood on the Cross and through His sacrifice I am forgiven and through the grace of God, have a path to salvation. I have gotten lost on my journey and have strayed, sometimes not too far, but other times much further away than I would ever want to be today.
I have walked a lot of my life in the world and less time walking in faith, but the whole time God had his hand in my life and was shaping me for the life I now strive to live. I know that I am still a sinner, but I strive to do better every day and seeking out God's direction in everything I do, in every interaction that I have and I relay on Him to teach me strength, patience, self-love and forgiveness toward others but also self-forgiveness. I have learned very clearly in my distance from God just how truly important being close to Him really is. I believe in His purpose, even when it doesn't make sense, when it is unclear and even when it hurts, and maybe even more so when it hurts, because it teaches me how to trust in His plan, and teaches me patience and perseverance in the storm and helps me to build my strength within the battles, and in the storms and builds character and humility.
Who I am professionally
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in both New York State and in North Carolina. I have been working in the field for many years, working with children, adolescents and their families. I have worked with couples and individuals across the lifespan and within the context of many different areas of concern. I am trauma informed and have spent many years working with clients is crisis, with higher levels of acuity, including individuals struggling with suicidal ideation, with past attempts, self-injury and ongoing self-harming behaviors due to deeply embedded and chronic pain and anguish from past trauma, attachment issues, or attachment style related concerns. Many of the people I’ve worked with have struggled with some of the more intense and abrasive mental health conditions including borderline personality disorder (BDP), Post Traumatic Distress Disorder (PTSD) as well as Complex PTSD. Among other conditions, are dissociation and dissociative symptoms (depersonalization, derealization).
My Specialties
I am a crisis worker at heart and have worked for Mobile Crisis Services and in Psychiatric Emergency Room settings. In private practice I have worked with many people with processing past, pervasive and long-standing trauma memories, childhood adverse childhood experiences as well as very recent traumatic experiences, while identifying and managing the triggers on a daily basis.
I got into the Social Work discipline over 15 years ago, as I was trying to figure out my own life, deal with, process and move on from some of my own traumatic life experiences as well as dealing with an undefined identity crisis. I have done a lot of the work, have healed so much and now understand the need to work with others in figuring out their journey through life.
When we think about trauma, we must acknowledge that it changes us in very profound ways. Trauma can lead to deeply internalized, distressing pain, that often can distract us and derail our God given purpose. It is in healing that we can regain and realign our focus, set out on a new path and achieve the desired goals and objectives set forth in our plan. This is my purpose today.
Disclaimer
I am not a spiritual advisor, and I’m not claiming to be one. But as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who is also a person of faith, I have developed and maintain a high moral and ethical standard and use my faith to inform my perspectives in the journey to discovering what works best for everyone involved. I use my training and lived experiences along with my vast repertoire of skills to assist individuals in finding ways to overcome barriers, become grounded and identify the most relevant details and attributes to their objectives in order to help them develop a clear and focused perspective that will lead to the most effective and desired outcome. I believe that my faith can and dose inform my work in every facet, leading to a deeper understanding of our purpose and subsequently a deeper walk with Christ.
While I have been a Christian for many years, I have spent many years lost in the wilderness and even though I was saved many years ago, I am still very young in my new walk with Christ, largely due to spending more time walking in the world and not in building and tending to a deep and personal relationship with Him. I am learning about a whole new way of living and walking in faith since Jesus has decided to give me yet another, of what might be hundreds or maybe even thousands of chances to come back to Him and to know Him.
As someone who was lost for so long, I have made some bad choices, I have given into the pressures of the world, it's expectations and have lived in conformity in more ways that I'd like to admit. I ask that you withhold your judgements about me or my choices, because God has already placed convictions on my life and His judgement is the final say in all of this.