Episode 046: From Marketing and Communications to Marriage and Family Therapy with Sara Wilson

Sep 1, 2019

 

In this episode, Sara McArdle talks with Sara Wilson about her journey from marketing and communications to marriage and family therapy. Sara Wilson talks about the "lightening bolt moment" that led her to pursue becoming a therapist, the vulnerability of starting over in a new field, and how she recognized her own value and negotiated with a new employer. Today, Sara is finishing up her graduate program at Antioch University in Seattle and working at a center for children with trauma.

 

Want to make your own career change?
Download Sara's Seven Cs of Successful Career Change Chart.

 

Sara McArdle and Sara Wilson Discuss:

• How they know one another
• Sara Wilson wanting to be a Broadway actress when she grew up
• Majoring in International Studies in college and then switching to Communications
• Deciding she didn't want life to "happen to her"
• How her mother's passing impacted her outlook
• Finding a passion for volunteering with teenage girls
• A "lightening bolt" a-ha moment
• The time it took for her new idea to germinate
• The idea of "throwing it all away" for something new
• Her husband at the time not being on board with her career shift
• Now working at a center for children with trauma
• How her past marketing and communications work supports her therapy work
• Starting over again with a new professional network
• How everything seemed to align, almost cosmically, to make her career change happen
• Advocating for herself with a new employer
• Money fears
• Learning how to embrace the uncertainty
• What it's like to do work that makes you feel alive
• The clinical work she's doing now
• A recent inspiration: Michelle Obama's book, "Becoming"
• Her advice for other career changers
• ...and more!

Sara Wilson's Full Bio:

Sara Wilson is a woman in the midst of change. After 15 years in the marketing and communications field, she is taking a leap into the world of marriage and family therapy. Currently at the end of her graduate program and working at a center for children with trauma, Sara is passionate about kids, teens, and families. Changing careers has been an exhilarating, challenging journey⁠—one that even took Sara to Cambodia earlier this year—and she is so glad she took the leap. Sara holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Washington, and soon, a masters degree in counseling psychology from Antioch University Seattle. Outside of school and work, Sara loves to travel, cook, and spend time with her cats and partner in Bellingham, Washington.

 

Connect with Sara McArdle and Women Who Went for It:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/womenwhowentforit 

Website: www.womenwhowentforit.com 

Nominate a Podcast Guest: www.saramcardle.com/podcast-guest 

Patreon: www.patreon.com/womenwhowentforit

Email (for guest nominations, use link above rather than email): [e-mail] 

Phone: [phone]

 

Want to make your own career change?

Download Sara's Seven Cs of Successful Career Change Chart.