Partners For Change Counseling, LLC

Sarah Stoune, M.Ed, Licensed Professional Counselor

THERAPIST: About Sarah | How I Work | Mission & Vision | Resumé

MY JOURNEY TO BECOMING A COUNSELOR: As a kid I did a lot of drawing, writing, and creating. I imagined my adult life as a professional artist and followed that path when I entered college. I took my own sweet time in college (7 years) and finally settled on writing my own degree plan that included graphic arts, journalism, and publication design. I worked as a professional graphic artist for 10-ish years, first as a staff artist then in my own solo design studio.

Eventually, I got really fed up with doing other people’s art and disillusioned with the capitalist-business world that graphic artists serve. So, I quit and wandered through work as a professional psychic, a jewelry designer, a Reiki healer, and eventually, I became a nanny!

I loved my 4 years working with little kids. Humans from birth to around age 6 are without question among the most awesome beings on the planet! Through them, my lifelong interest in human development–emotional, cognitive, and relational–was rekindled. So, in 2005 I took a leap of faith (in myself and the universe) and applied and was accepted to graduate school.

Honestly, my first year grad school I had no idea what I was doing. I took core classes in Human Development and Family Studies, which were great, but frustrating. I couldn’t figure out how all the great research was getting filtered down through the ivory towers of academia to the teachers, parents, therapists, and others who are in the trenches with children, families, and individuals who are struggling and in need. The short answer is: it doesn’t.

In order to be a part of a profession that brings research and new ideas directly to the people in need, at the end of my first year in grad school I changed departments and joined the Counselor Education program. In many ways this change felt like coming home. I graduated with my Masters in counseling in May 2011. After completing 3,000 supervised work hours as a counselor, I finally achieved my dream of becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor in November 2013.

How I Work

I work mostly with adults (18 and up) in individual counseling.
On occasion, I will work with late-teens (15 and up), couples, and groups.

My primary goal is to create a therapeutic partnership with you in which you feel authentically witnessed—deeply seen and heard, and your experiences and emotions are validated. I want to earn your trust and build a mutual respect with you to enable you heal, grow, and create lasting positive change in your life and relationships.

In the first session or two we get to know one another and affirm that we are a good match. I ask lots of questions to learn about you and your needs, and you’re allowed to ask me questions too! From there, we work together to identify at a deeper level the areas of your life that you want to work on. This becomes our “treatment plan,” which is always open for reevaluation and discussion.

The sessions themselves will dance a bit between focusing on the present happenings in your life and exploring the early life history that may be contributing unconsciously to present difficulties. Both my training and clinical experience has taught me that we often cannot heal the present without taking a deep dive into the traumas of our past. Among the tools I have to aid your guided self-exploration of negative past events are: Internal Family Systems, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both of these approaches to healing trauma address not only the logical cognitive parts, but also the “squishy” emotional parts that has its own weird logic, as well as the “primal” body that stores unconscious body-centered memory.

MY JOB AS COUNSELOR: is to earn your trust and to create a comfortable space, in-person or online, in which you feel safe sharing your fears, doubts, and secrets. A space in which you also feel safe receiving from me keen observations of you, questions that challenge you, and participating in thought-provoking exercises that enable you to find the best answers for the questions in your life.

I believe that you are the ultimate expert about your own life, even when the way ahead may not be clear. I’m here to help you clear out old trauma, clarify your goals, and teach you new skills that will enable you to live your best life!

YOUR JOB AS CLIENT: is to trust me and the therapeutic process by sharing openly with me about your life and the challenges you’re facing, knowing anything you discuss is confidential and that you will always have a compassionate experienced listener. During our sessions, we will talk a lot, but may also do things like creative visualization, rehearsing difficult conversations, or therapeutic art or storytelling. Between sessions, I may ask you to spend a bit of time on simple exercises, journaling, or just reflection. The more engaged you are in the whole process, the better your outcome!

Resumé

Education:
2011 Masters of Education in Counseling, Texas Tech University
1997 Bachelors of General Studies, Texas Tech University

License:
2013 Licensed Professional Counselor TX #68262
2011 Licensed Professional Counselor, Associate

Training:
2014 Eye Movement Desensitization and Retraining (EMDR)
2021 ACISTE Certified Mental Health Professional (in process)

Employment:
2013-current Partners For Change Counseling, LLC
2018-current Julia’s Counseling & Play Therapy Group, PLLC
2012-2013 Inspirations, intensive outpatient group therapy for Elder clients, Lubbock, TX
2011-2013 Neuropsychological Services, Dr. Addison Gradel, owner and psychologist
2010-2013 Family Counseling Services

Presentations:
2013 H.O.P.E. Professional Growth Conference, Lubbock, TX
2014 ACISTE Conference, Dallas, TX