Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Speed.
Hi Sara, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I took my first psychology course in high school and remember being completely enthralled. Learning about the inner workings of the mind and the meaning behind behavior lit a fire in me that burns just as brightly today as it did in that tiny classroom in New York. I attended the University of Miami with a major in Marine Science (the only thing I loved more than psychology at that time… dolphins), and a minor in psychology which quickly became the reverse when I ran into organic chemistry like a brick wall.
As I began taking more and more in-depth courses I started to lean more toward the counseling concentration versus research and testing. Even as a girl, an only child of a single mom whose friends became her family, I relished in the role of helping my girlfriends navigate their adolescent spats and cope with their parent’s divorces. I have always been a helper. When I was 13 and had my heart set on becoming a marine biologist my mother took me to see a psychic and she said, “I’m so sorry to tell you this honey, but… you’re not going to do that. You’re meant to help people with your words.” It’s so amazing to look back on that now and see how right she was.
After UM, I went straight to Nova Southeastern University to get my graduate degree, partly to chase my dream and partly because I just wasn’t ready for the real world yet. I was placed at Henderson Behavioral Health for my practicum which segued seamlessly into a job when I graduated. I wanted to be in the trenches and see firsthand what I had read in textbooks for so many years so I got a position at their inpatient lockdown unit. I was in love. It was exciting, fascinating, and incredibly gratifying.
I worked my way up the ranks at Henderson leaving eight years later as the Clinical Coordinator of Crisis Services for the agency. As amazing as that role was, it was a young man’s game. Though I wanted to continue serving the community, I was ready to take a step back from the front lines. I then spent some time at Delray Medical Center providing educational services at their behavioral health unit, and Magellan Health overseeing their outpatient claims review team. The managed care sector was a bit too far away from the action and I felt I was no longer living my purpose in that arena. Right at that time I became pregnant with my first and only child, a daughter who is now twelve, and advising her friends through the turbulent waters of their adolescence. Full circle.
I took some time off then, five years to spend with her until she began attending school full time. I enjoyed my new role as a “mom” but missed working with people and making more of a contribution to the community. I got a position at a neurodevelopmental center for children.
Though it was wonderful to affect change at such a young age, I much preferred working with the parents as they struggled to cope with the pain and terror of watching their neurodivergent children face a cold world that would never cradle them as warmly as they did. While there my boss was generous enough to fund an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) course. She was a scientist and loved anything evidence-based. I was learning something that would thrust me into the role I believe I was always meant for, trauma therapy. About a year after that, the whole world experienced a synchronous trauma it never saw coming… Covid.
The children’s center was closed for months and I never went back. A wonderful girlfriend of mine was a therapist in private practice and suggested maybe I consider going in that direction. I was always intimidated by the prospect of starting my own business and stepping out from under the safety of the agency umbrella. But this was perfect, I could focus on my EMDR work, I could see people virtually, and I could build my practice at my own pace. I registered an LLC and opened a business account at Bank of America and that was it, I was on my way.
My friend put me in touch with the founder of the group practice she worked with, Dr. Kate Campbell of Bayview Therapy. Dr. Kate was an inspiration. So intelligent, so experienced, and so supportive of helping me achieve my dream. After I signed on with the practice she started helping me hone my niche. This is when the planets began to align. EMDR is a trauma treatment that has proven to be highly successful with veterans. My husband is a combat veteran with the Marine Corps, and, a firefighter. Coupling my professional experience with the firsthand experience of watching what my husband and his coworkers have to endure daily was the magic concoction I was looking for.
In my time with Bayview Therapy, I have gotten my formal certification in EMDR as well as become a Certified First Responder Counselor. I am living my purpose now more than ever before and it is a feeling that is hard to describe. I am so proud to be working in my area of study and using my clinical knowledge and personal experience to serve a group of people so in need and so incredibly deserving. The first responder community is highly misunderstood, even amongst themselves.
The hero persona leads people to think that they should be somehow immune to trauma, and have superpowers that make them untouchable by lack of sleep, the threat of death, loss of comrades, and exposure to the worst day of people’s lives rinse and repeat for careers often up to thirty years long. I have used the last twenty years as a building block for the honor of doing this work, as well as my seventeen-year relationship with a first responder to instill a layer of empathy only made possible by seeing behind the cape. Now, I can only hope that the psychic was right, that I am… helping people with my words.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to where I am has been a relatively smooth one like I was clearly on the way to my destiny all along. As a therapist, I often tell my clients that though the purpose of their struggles may be a mystery now, looking back in the future will provide clarity that is hard to deny. Even the jobs that didn’t satisfy me I can now see were preparation in some way or another for what I am doing now.
My biggest challenge has always been myself. Doubt in my abilities and fear of the unknown. But, nothing makes you more human than your struggle. Nothing makes you more “normal” or relatable than your discomfort and suffering. I try to use that now, as a tool to connect with my clients and let them know, no matter what side of the couch you are sitting on, we are all in this together.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My practice serves adults struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, esteem issues, and trauma. I use an eclectic approach to meet the unique needs of each person who comes through my door. In addition to being a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), I am also a Certified First Responder Counselor who utilizes evidence-based techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help people overcome their suffering and find peace and contentment.
I am passionate about providing care to the first responder community who hold a special place in my heart as the wife of a firefighter/paramedic. This group of individuals presents a unique challenge and they need to work with someone who can appreciate the extraordinary demands they are faced with daily. I am so proud to be providing care to this underserved population and only hope I can be a fraction as helpful to them as they are to us.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned along my journey is that the inner voice that tells you that you can’t do it or that you’re not good enough is universal and unrelenting. Everyone has it and it never goes away.
Even the most successful people wonder if they are capable or deserving. The key is being able to talk back. Learning to silence it and forge ahead anyway. The only thing limiting your potential or keeping you from happiness is you.
Contact info:
- Website: https://www.bayviewtherapy.com | https://www.bayviewtherapy.com/sara-speed
- Instagram: bayview.therapy
- Contact #: 954-391-5305
Image Credits
Susan Barbini – Barbini Photography (https://www.bayviewtherapy.com/ https://www.bayviewtherapy.com/sara-speed Instagram: @bayview.therapy; Contact number: 954-391-5305)
