Sarah Michelle Ogden BA(H), MSW, RSW, EMDR Therapist she/her/hers
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do / With your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver
I love these words from Mary Oliver. Life can be a beautiful, wild gift which sometimes for many reasons we may be held back from fully embracing and enjoying. I am honoured to support clients in moving through the barriers holding them back from themselves, and from their lives.
Sometimes in life we can have experiences that leave us shattered. It may be a profound loss. It may be an experience of abuse or other trauma. We may believe we can never again feel like ourselves or find our way back to the life we knew or towards a better life ahead. We can lose hope. From a place of acceptance and self-compassion, I work to help clients find hope and healing.
I believe the outcome can be the journey - that the therapeutic relationship and the process of counselling can in and of itself be healing and transformative. I have experienced this myself with therapists in my own therapy, which I engage in ongoing. A wise teacher and healer once told me "To be the best helper we can be, we need to tend to our own healing." Makes a lot of sense!
My formal training includes a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, trauma-informed learning, such as Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), and Internal Family Systems (IFS) courses (Parts Work). I also have training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Mindfulness. I have also completed courses in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) with couples and families. My experience includes working with specific populations such as trauma survivors, children, youth and parents, 2SLGBTQQIA+ clients, and veterans, military members and their loved ones. I sit across from my clients with deep empathy for the difficult experiences they have lived through.
I live in the Trent Hills area, with my partner and our young son, who lights up our days. Not to be forgotten is our esteemed feline fur baby, Catu. Time in nature, the outdoors and physical movement and exercise are very important to me. I love a good book and am always looking for new author and title suggestions (if you’d like to share)!
I am open to answering questions and discussing my experience further - please feel welcome to ask at any time. Thank you for being here and reading a bit about me. I wish you my very best on your journey!
Check back here in future to learn more about the therapy approaches listed.
Please note: At present, Sarah Michelle is not accepting new clients. If you are interested in counselling, Andrew of Transitions Counselling Services and Shannon of Kind-Natured Psychotherapy are accepting new clients.