Thriving Bravely
Living well with depression and anxiety.
ABOUT SARAH JONES, LCSW
Welcome.
I have been a psychotherapist in private practice for nearly two decades. Before changing careers, I worked in business and advertising (sigh). But I knew I wanted to evolve into a career that had social value and that could help people create better, more enriching lives for themselves.
Enriching as in happier, more content, more connected to others.
Really, it came down to doing work that involved love: loving others, being loved, and loving ourselves.
How we feel, and thus behave and move in the world, matters. A lot.
Sometimes I think this work found me. I have a sense of humor. Stuff scares me. I am inspired by my patients. I have talents and flaws. By taking care of myself, I can offer care to others.
Please click below to join my mailing list and get the free e-book 52 Weeks of Thriving Bravely.
It’s a great place to start!
My Journey to Thriving Bravely.
I have lived through periodic depressive episodes, as well as anxiety, since age thirteen. I spent the earlier part of my life (as in a couple of decades) trying to wish it away, embarking on lots of therapy, working so hard my bones ached, using alcohol, and circling around and around the shame that seemed to follow me.
Of course this led to such acute sadness that at times I could not imagine ever feeling truly, deeply happy. But here’s the strange part: I actually did feel happy sometimes, really happy…But when that feeling didn’t stick around for as long as I’d hoped, my mind assessed the situation in a very distorted way: wait…you want happiness all the time?
(Spoiler alert: that doesn’t exist).
Over the past number of years, I have come to understand that mental health is a process, not a destination. Happiness fluctuates. Feeling good comes and goes.
It’s real when we feel it and it will be back soon. Our physical selves are the same: bodies age, change, occasionally stop working perfectly, and sometimes need extra (or different) care.
So, my arrival at this space that I call Thriving Bravely has been an interesting, exciting, unexpected (and sometimes melancholy) evolution toward acceptance of my own vulnerabilities, and daring to share those with you – so that I can offer hope to fellow travelers.
Sometimes thriving is easy, sometimes very, very hard.
My mission is to support you in making it less hard.
(I thought of a tagline when I conceived of Thriving Bravely: “depression and anxiety suck, but life doesn’t have to.” I haven’t used it…yet).
A Few of My Beliefs.
We need one another: connectedness is inseparable from thriving.
Thriving is a process of love, acceptance, heartache and joy. And bravery.
Thriving includes difficult feelings.
Depression and anxiety can feel overwhelmingly powerful.
But so are you. They do not get the last word.
Shame feeds on depression and anxiety.
There are antidotes that work.
Shame is a dreadful feeling.
But I’ve learned from it. And I know I wasn’t born with it.
Accepting ourselves as we are,
comes before changing into who we want to be.
We are braver than we realize.
Therapy works. With the right therapist for you.
Qualifications and Education.
- MSW: Master’s Degree in Social Work (Columbia University)
- BS: Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (Northwestern University)
- Trained in implementation of Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
- Presented workshop at NASW Connecticut (National Association of Social Workers) “School Social Work and the 21st Century Learner: Integrating Mental Health with Education”
- Guest Lecturer at Fordham University School of Social Service
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If you would like to send me an email, have questions, want to know more about whether a
course is right for you, drop me a line at sarah@thrivingbravely.com.
(I will answer every email personally)