My name is Sarah Wixted. I am a single mother of 3. I have 2 daughters, ages 13 and 16 and 1 son, age 18. I received my bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science and will receive my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and become a Licensed Professional Counselor. I grew up in a middle-class family in Los Angeles for the first 10 years. My dad had a job change, and we moved to a small town in Arkansas. It was quite a culture shock. I learned even in a different state, there are different ways of thinking. I had a happy childhood. I am very close to my family and extended family (my grandparents, cousins, aunts). We are very open and there is a deep level of intimacy among us. I find having family and friends you can talk to and who are loyal and loving is a very vital part of being mentally and emotionally healthy I am Christian.
The love, forgiveness, and acceptance of God is embedded in the fabric of my life. I am very thankful for my relationship with God and without it, I would probably have probably wouldn’t have the courage to become a counselor. I was a stay-at-home mom for many years and homeschooled my kids. This was one of the most meaningful and fulfilling parts of my life. Motherhood is my true calling and my children’s growth mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically is and always will be a priority for me. Around 7 years ago, I got a divorce and went back to school to finish my bachelor’s. I chose Behavioral Science and planned to get my master’s in counseling.
While getting my degree I works as a healthcare coordinator for in home clients. Once I got my degree, I waited a little while to go back to school mostly due to financial reasons, but now I have begun my master’s degree program for counseling. I have always wanted to be a counselor and even though I have waited a long time to do it (I’m almost 40 years old), I am on my way to fulfilling part of who I am meant to be. Counseling is a pathway to personal growth and healing. I believe in looking at the whole of a person which involves physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. I believe mental wellness is fundamental in facing any negative situation and has a positive effect in the people and world around you. My philosophy is to come along side encourage, and challenge my clients to find wholeness, healing and self-discovery. I plan to provide a safe, comfortable environment and to build a healthy therapeutic relationship, and provide the tools to help my client better themselves.
It is important for the client to know that healing is truly up to them, I am there to help. We will work as a team to develop goals and desired outcomes. I believe every client is a unique person with their own special strengths and gifts and with their own specific problems. I also believe in respect and understanding for my clients’ race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability status, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. My focus clientele will be children, adolescents, and adults of any age. I plan to counsel for issues like family struggles, relational issues, mood disorders, and addictions, but I would like to specialize in trauma, PTSD, abuse, and other stressors. I would like to use evidence-based therapies like Abuse-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. I would also use EMDR, Trauma Focused, and Person-Centered Therapy. I plan to always be educating myself on new therapies backed by empirical evidence.
My personal code of ethics framework as a counselor will be the foundations of my practice. I will go above and beyond the basic expectations, rules, and regulations of the code of ethics of the ACA, but I will begin with those. There are 6 moral principles of ethics. These are autonomy (respect and rights and fostering self-determination), non-maleficence (to do no harm), beneficence (promote well-being), justice (commitment to fairness), fidelity (loyalty, commitment, trust), and veracity (honesty). I will follow the laws set out by the federal and state agencies. As a counselor, my personal ethics goal is to protect and serve my client to the best of my ability and to protect myself as well. I have personal values that will aid this purpose. I feel authenticity and empathy is at the top of my ethical list. Counseling is not just a job where you use the informational knowledge you have learned, it involves caring and thoughtfulness.
When faced with a difficult ethical dilemma, I will use the ethical decision-making model to help make the most beneficial decision where I consider my client, the community, and myself. Respect for others believes and culture no matter how different they are than mine. I think it is important to not stereotype or have any preconceived ideas. Really listening to my client is part of respect and will develop understanding. I will have competency and be committed to continue to grow in my growth and knowledge of counseling. I will not counsel someone I do not have the training or skills for their need. Part of my ethical framework will have competent and mature counselors to consult with about difficult situations or to provide the best counseling method as possible. I will also discuss issues of the law with a lawyer if necessary.
Part of my own personal moral is to strive every day to love my neighbor as myself. Self-awareness and the practice of using my own experience to help, not hinder, my client is fundamental. I will also choose to make time for self-care. If I can’t take care of myself, I will not be able to serve my client to the best of my abilities. Last, but not least, a vital part of my own personal ethics is confidentiality. This is the cornerstone of counseling. I client need to have total confidents and trust in me as a counselor. Without discloser and privacy, there is no foundation in counseling. I will always consider the safety of others and my client when it comes to discloser (duty to warn, duty to protect), but my clients will be completely aware of my responsibilities by informed consent before the counseling relationship even begins. MY MISSION My mission is to promote, encourage, facilitate, offer tools, and guide my clients to mental and emotional healing and wellness by providing counseling through evidence-based therapies with empathy, confidentiality, honesty, non-judgement, caring, and competency.
My goal is to provide a safe and private environment. I also want to have a high standard of professionalism including a comfortable, beautiful, clean space. I want to be genuine and authentic. I want to also be competent in all my therapies and will continue to gain knowledge of the field. I will see all my clients as unique individuals and seek to serve them to the very best of my ability. I won’t be afraid to think outside the box to help my client better their lives. Issues I intend to focus on would be abuse, trauma, shame, depression and/or mood disorders, stress, relational issues, and addictions. I will consider and be thoughtful of my clients race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Advocacy will be part of my dedication to my client.
I will see my client as an emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical being and consider all these aspects of when I counsel them. I will use empirical, evidence-based therapies. I plan to eventually have my own private practice. RESUME Summary For many years I was a stay at home mother of 3. I did volunteer work and homeschooled my children. I learned a great deal about teaching children and child development through my volunteer work and by teaching my children. I worked intently to give my children the best education possible. In 2012, I need to go back to work and planned to eventually go back to school. When I went back to work, I gained experience working with and for people including children and handicap. I got some experience with having my own business and learned about managing people and customer service. I went back to school a few years ago and recently received my bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science.
I have excellent skills at multitasking and time management and working with people. I have gained other skills through my degree including managing people, human resources, psychology, sociology, implementing plans, and social work and services. Skills I have excellent skills in time management and multitasking. I am proud to say that I can do it all, and do it all well. I am a single mother, I went to school, ran my house, and worked a full time job and have done it with quality. I have never missed a day of work and take my job seriously and do it well. I have made all A’s while in school since I started back, and I run my house like a well-oiled machine. I make sure my children are supported and disciplined emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually and of course, their education is important to me. • I work well with people. I love people. I enjoy listening and communicating with them whether they are young, old, my superior, my customer, or those working for me. I am a great motivator and encourager. I am not afraid to give constructive criticism when necessary or to receive it myself. I face problems head on. I treat everyone with the same respect I would like to be treated.
