Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Santiago.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Southwest Michigan in a farm town. My parents were always volunteering and helping others and from a young age I felt determined to find a career in which I would be able to also help others. It took me a long time to identify that career and I am so grateful to have ended up where I am today. I was pretty self-conscious and shy throughout high school. There were many school activities that I wanted to get involved with but didn’t have the confidence to try. When I moved to college, I promised myself that I would allow myself to try all of the activities that interested me.
I was a first-generation college student and despite feeling very lost academically, I flourished and thrived as a student leader. I attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan and I quickly became involved in many campus organizations and opportunities.
Eventually, I was hired as a resident advisor (RA); a job that I absolutely thrived in and loved. That job allowed me the opportunity to connect with students and watch them grow and succeed throughout the academic year. My passion for my RA job led me to consider pursuing a master’s degree in higher education to allow me to continue to work in a university setting. I graduated from NMU in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
My background working as an RA led me to obtain a graduate internship at The University Of Wisconsin-Whitewater working as a graduate-level assistant complex director (someone who lived in the residence hall and helped to supervise the RAs and oversee the hall). UWW happened to have a CACREP-accredited master’s degree program in counseling. My work at UWW, fortunately, led me to identifying and pursuing the career of my dreams, and I enrolled in the counseling program.
My program was a 3-year program that included a clinical practicum working in the campus counseling center providing therapy to students and community members and a two semester-long clinical internship. My internship site was a small-town mental health agency where I had the opportunity to provide intensive outpatient group and individual therapy to adults struggling with legal issues related to substance use. I worked with a wide range of mental health issues, incarcerated individuals, court-mandated individuals, and people who were working so hard to overcome personal traumas and challenges. I had such a positive experience at my internship and really grew a deeper sense of understanding, empathy, and compassion for individuals struggling with substance use.
I was anticipating that I would stay in Wisconsin after graduation because that is where my husband grew up (to clarify I love and adore Michigan, but Wisconsin is pretty great too, and they have cheese curds okay!). My husband ended up taking a job at our alma mater: Northern Michigan University, and it led me back to Marquette.
I ended up taking a position as the Program Counselor for NMU’s TRiO Student Support Services program. The position required me to serve as both a counselor and advisor for my students. My students worked with me for their entire undergraduate career, and I loved the opportunity to support them throughout their entire time at NMU. I discreetly cried in the stands at their graduations watching them walk across the stage and reflecting on all of the challenges they overcame to earn their degree. It was such an honor to work with my students. I spent nearly 4 years in that position but started to feel that I needed a different pace in my career.
I began to see a few private practice clients on nights and weekends and quickly fell in love with having my own therapy practice. I loved the creative freedom that being a business owner gave me and I loved the opportunity to exclusively work with the population that I serve best: anxious college women who wished to overcome their self-doubt and improve their self-care. In 2018 I made the decision to pursue private practice full time and Bloom Counseling & Wellness was born!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been bumpy; however, I have worked really hard to be flexible and adaptable. In life, all of us will be thrown unexpected curveballs and when that happens, we have two options: resist change or lean into it. In my business, I feel I’ve worked hard to embrace change.
In 2018 I opened my dream practice. I had an office in a gorgeous historical building on Lake Superior. I poured my heart into building a beautiful, comfortable space where my clients felt safe and happy to engage in face-to-face therapy. Like many, I was blindsided in 2020 by the pandemic. Not only was I a relatively new business owner navigating lockdowns, but I was also a new mom to premature twins. That gorgeous office was my dream, but it sat unused because it wasn’t safe for my family for me to work in person. After several months, I gave up my physical office space and dove headfirst into creating a fully virtual psychotherapy practice; a move I never imagined I’d make.
Deciding to give up my office was one of the biggest challenges of my career. I was deeply grateful that I had the option to shift to virtual work, but I wasn’t sure if I could maintain my business virtually. Nearly three years later I’ve since learned that going virtual has only enhanced the therapeutic experience for my clients. Virtual therapy has made therapy more accessible and consistent for my clients. College students are busy, and my clients love that they can jump into a therapy session from their dorm room between classes or that we can continue treatment while they travel home for breaks. Sometimes my clients will transfer schools or move; as long as they are still in Michigan, we can maintain our therapeutic relationship. Living in the Upper Peninsula means frequent snowstorms that can make travel challenging at times, so being virtual removes weather-related cancellations. Changing my practice to a fully virtual practice has truly been wonderful for the population that I serve!
Over the years, I’ve had to make some big decisions in how I run my practice that align with my professional values and style. Owning a business means that you have complete freedom to make decisions that are the best fit for you and your clients, but it can also go against the opinions of other business owners. Making changes and decisions can feel risky and scary, but I’ve always worked to educate myself, seek guidance from mentors and other professionals that I trust, and keep my client’s best interest in mind. Navigating challenges and making changes can feel terrifying, but I absolutely love the feeling I get when I push through my self-doubts and overcome a challenge. It’s the exact feeling I want my clients to experience in their own lives.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) through the State of Michigan and a National Board-Certified Counselor (NCC) through the NBCC.
Due to my background in higher education, I exclusively work with Michigan college students and young professionals. I provide psychotherapy for the treatment of issues like anxiety and eating disorders. I help my clients pursue their goals related to confidence, self-care, boundaries, people pleasing, impostor syndrome, body image, adjustment to new life situations, and communication within relationships.
I provide virtual therapy and can legally provide therapy to anyone physically located in Michigan.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was shy and lacked the confidence to do the things I wanted to do. I loved reading, especially science fiction and scary stories (any other 90’s kids out there who also loved reading Animorphs?). I was always very tall and looked athletic, so people always assumed I was an athlete; however, I lacked any coordination whatsoever and was terrible at sports despite trying nearly all of them in school.
It wasn’t until I went to college that I really feel like I allowed myself to embrace my true authentic self. I loved volunteering, I loved helping others, I loved being involved on campus. I quickly learned that it is easy for me to connect with others and to make people feel seen and heard. I also started to become a vocal advocate in college. As a political science major, I learned about many social justice issues happening in our country and began to seek change. I became a vegetarian (a huge shock to my carnivorous family of avid hunters; love you, Dad!) I spoke up on issues that I felt passionate about. I began to take my right to vote seriously.
My entire life I’ve been an animal lover and have always been a deeply compassionate person. I also was a little bit of a people pleaser and struggled with my own feelings of self-doubt. Watching myself overcome all of this throughout my early twenties really fuels my passion for working with the population that I do. I never assume that my clients’ experiences are like mine, but I love to be a part of their journey to “bloom” into their true authentic selves just as I did.
Pricing:
- Therapy sessions: $150-$200
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BloomMqt.com
- Instagram: @Bloom.Mental.Health
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsantiago906/
Image Credits
Sabrina Leigh Langdon
John Scheibe