Sarah has been working therapeutically with adults, children and families for the past 20 years. Originally trained as an adult psychotherapist, Sarah has enjoyed working across a number of different settings including the NHS, university counselling services and working in private practice. Being able to offer an approach that honours each client’s individual and specific needs has always been important to Sarah, so she has trained in several models of therapy including Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Analytic and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.

With the birth of her daughter in 2011, Sarah found herself revisiting some of her own childhood dreams and one in particular of going to art school. In 2013 she enrolled on a Foundation in Art and Design course and whilst not knowing it at the time this decision was the seed for much growth and change – both professionally and personally. Wanting to incorporate the transformative nature of creativity into her clinical work Sarah then studied at the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE) where she gained a Post Graduate Diploma in the Therapeutic and Educational Application of The Arts before going on to complete her Masters in Integrative Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Her relationship with IATE continues and she now teaches on the Diploma course which keeps her passion for working with the arts very much alive.

Since qualifying as a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Sarah has worked in schools, colleges and private practice. She has a special interest in working with children who have experienced developmental/relational trauma and those who care for them. Having met Dan Hughes and been inspired by his Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy model (DDP), Sarah went on to train in this approach and now works with foster and adoptive families. Sarah has also completed her Theraplay level 1 training which, like DDP, is attachment focused and she incorporates elements of both of these models into her work with children and their caregivers.

Sarah has a warm, compassionate and playful way of relating to the individuals she works with and places great emphasis on building safe and trusting relationships, believing that it is these relationships that provide the framework for meaningful change and reparation to occur. Her approach remains integrative and is based on psychoanalytical theory, attachment theory and the latest in neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology.

Sarah believes that this is an incredibly exciting time to be working in the field of trauma as we are learning more and more about the ways that our brains are shaped by our earliest experiences of care and how this impacts on how we learn and relate. Alongside this we are learning more about the therapeutic interventions which can promote attachment security and help children to heal from trauma, thus also bringing a message of real hope.

Sarah also feels passionate about promoting awareness and understanding of the emotional needs of children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and how these can lead to complex/developmental trauma. Alongside her role at Beacon House Sarah works as a trainer and tutor for Trauma Informed Schools UK, an organisation that is committed to improving the learning, mental health and quality of life of children and young people.

  • MA Integrative Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (with distinction)
    Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE), 2016-2019
  • Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic Application of the Arts in Therapy and Education
    Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE), 2015-2016
  • Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
    West Dean College, 2013-2015
  • Cognitive-Analytic Therapist Training
    St Thomas Hospital, London, 2005-2007
  • Mindfulness Teacher Development Level 1
    Bangor University, 2009
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling
    University of Sussex, 2000-2002
  • Theraplay level 1
    Family Futures, London, 2020
  • Paws.b.
    Mindfulness in Schools Project, 2020
  • Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) level two
    Centre for Emotional Development, Brighton, 2019
  • Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) level one
    Centre for Emotional Development, Brighton, 2019
  • Cognitive-Analytic supervisor training
    Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, 2015-2016