Meet Sabrina Anderson

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sabrina Anderson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sabrina below.

Sabrina, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

Self-care is one of the most important priorities I have embraced in my life. As I shifted into middle age, I realized that I often put others’ needs above my own, which led to a lot of anxiety and burnout. Once I completed graduate school and became a school counselor, it became even more evident to me that I was not practicing what I preached. I would often tell my students how to implement self-care, but I wasn’t doing it myself.

When the pandemic hit, it became even more apparent how I wasn’t practicing self-care. As I isolated, I recognized I wanted to make a change. I started walking every day, drinking less alcohol, and started saying “no” when I didn’t have the bandwidth do to something. I also started noticing and naming my anxiety, making space for it, and learned how to embrace it instead of shoving it down.

Implementing self-care has impacted my effectiveness not only as a therapist, but also as in my personal life. I have greater boundaries and allow myself to prioritize my mental health. I feel I truly model what self-care looks like for my clients and my lived experience with self-care is crucial in my therapeutic approach.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

In July of 2023, I opened Birdjoy Therapy, a private practice for mental health. My practice’s focus is primarily relationships and the mental health conditions that often show up in relationships such as anxiety, attachment disorders, and low self-esteem. The most exciting part of my practice is the help I give to clients that are struggling to connect with others, and how they can make change to create the lives they really want to live. I focus on living in your values, building self-confidence, and implementing self-care.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

It can be very overwhelming to start your own business (just the paperwork alone!). The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey are motivation, confidence, and determination. Without these three key components, I might have tossed in the towel after a couple of months. It takes confidence in my ability to believe my services are worthwhile, motivation to keep creating connections, and determination to persevere even when it is challenging.

My advice for anyone wanting to start a small business is to lean on your community for support. Without my mentors, family, friends, and other therapist colleagues, I don’t know if I would have made it. When I’ve felt stuck, I can lean into my support system, get back up, and keep on going.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

A book that I read years ago that continues to resonate for me is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The four agreements are:
1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don’t make assumptions.
3. Don’t take anything personally.
4. Always do your best.
These principles are a guiding light when I feel stuck. I believe implementing these agreements every day makes me a stronger therapist, friend, family member, and all around better human to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.birdjoytherapy.com
• Instagram: @birdjoytherapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-anderson-9054ab37/

Image Credits

Headshots by Mariana Gama Hudson