Hello! I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Florida (LCSW) and Licensed Independent Social Work Clinical Practice in South Carolina (LISW-CP) with five years of experience in the field. I received my Masters in Social Work from Samford University and my Bachelors in Psychology at Auburn University (War Eagle!). I help adults who may find themselves "haunted" by past experiences find freedom from those experiences in order to move forward with the life they deeply desire but have struggled to accept or make for themselves. You will find that I am personable, jovial, humorous, and straight forward.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

In our first session we will just get to know one another. Predominantly I will be asking a lot of questions about you. Some may seem irrelevant but it's important I have a full picture of your life as best I can. It can be an emotionally draining session as there isn't a lot of processing but I know it took a lot to reach that point where you were ready to start therapy and then we are discussing some of the most difficult things that have happened in your life. Just keep in mind, I only need the cliff notes for this session just to have an idea of what areas we need to focus on. From there we will discuss frequency of sessions and a specific plan for treatment. I will reach out before our session to discuss scheduling as I have found it helpful to make sure we can even follow up again before having such an emotional discussion.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

I have worked with a wide variety of clients and issues. It's given me a diverse tool kit for problem solving and also helped me refine my skills with using those specific tools. I have a style that is a little different from your typical talk-therapy. It can be re-traumatizing to discuss traumatic experiences with anyone. A benefit of how I work is that you don't need to discuss what happened in detail. I'll ask questions just to get a basic idea of what is going on but we are predominantly focussing on you in that moment that happened and just showing your brain and your body that time as passed, you survived, and you don't ever have to go back to that place again. Think of it as "updating the system". That said, if there is something you need to share that you've never told anyone before, I promise you there will never be judgment. I've heard it all! The work of releasing yourself from shame is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and those around you.

About Sarah Shine