Sarah grew up on the north shore of Chicago. Born to native Chicagoans, she was the fifth of 5 children. Sarah has always liked people, and has always been interested in people. Her family called her “Sarah social worker” from the time she was 5, and she knew she wanted to be a psychotherapist since she was 10. Her earliest studies of family functioning were in her own family, and in her own neighborhood!
Sarah went on to graduate from New York University, with a Bachelors degree in psychology. She earned her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She began her social work career in child welfare, in the inner city of Chicago. A short time into her career, she began her studies at the Family Institute of Chicago (as it was then known; now it is a Masters program at Northwestern University in Evanston), where she was certified in marital and family therapy. Sarah spent many years as a therapist and clinical supervisor at child welfare agencies and community mental health centers, spent a year working with families of the students at an exclusive boarding school in Stockbridge Massachusetts, 3 years working for a managed care company in the 1990’s, and settled into her own private practice in 2004, having worked privately on the side since the 1980’s.
Unfortunately, Sarah lost the love of her life in 2009, but fortunately she got to enjoy him completely prior to then. She has every intention of finding that kind of love again, in the not too distant future. She currently lives on the far north side of Chicago, with her dog Scarlett – who is also her co-therapist. She and Scarlett do a lot of walking and ball playing, year round, and can frequently be found kayaking with friends and family in the summer.