We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sarah Rollins. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Who are you learning from right now?
As a current scholar in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program in Detroit, I’ve had the privilege of learning from a range of experts across different areas of business. One person who’s made a lasting impression on me is Mori Taheripour, who teaches the art of negotiation. I recently started her book Bring Yourself: How to Negotiate Fearlessly, and it’s changed how I think about negotiation entirely. It’s not just about closing deals or asking for a raise; it’s something we do every day with others and ourselves. Negotiation is deeply psychological; it involves our sense of self, our history, and how we value our own worth in every interaction.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Sarah Rollins, and I am a clinical social worker and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I am the owner and founder of Embodied Wellness, PLLC, a Michigan-based group therapy practice specializing in trauma-focused care through somatic therapy, EMDR, and holistic approaches.
Our mission is simple: to help people heal from trauma and remember that they were never broken to begin with.
What makes us unique is how we combine the science of trauma healing with the art of human connection. Our therapists don’t just treat symptoms or diagnoses; we pay attention to how stress and trauma live in the body, and we guide clients toward healing through awareness, curiosity, and body-based techniques.
Right now, we’re expanding from a fully virtual practice to include an in-person space. My goal is to create meaningful career growth opportunities for our therapists while building an inclusive, community-centered practice. We’re also developing more groups, workshops, and educational offerings to bring greater awareness of somatic therapy to communities across Michigan.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
For most of my life, I didn’t trust myself. I was always the one double-checking, second-guessing, and assuming someone else must know better. In school, I would “verify” my answers by glancing at other people’s tests, convinced there was no way I could be right and they could be wrong. Time and again, I’d find out that my first answer, the one I doubted, had been correct all along.
Beginning in my teen years, I struggled with an eating disorder, anxiety, and depression, and I heard the same message from health professionals: You can’t trust yourself. It took me years to understand that the part of me they were talking about- the wounded, fearful part- wasn’t the whole of me. I couldn’t trust that part to lead, but I could learn to trust the deeper, wiser part underneath it.
Through recovery, therapy, home ownership, and building a business, I’ve slowly learned that I can trust myself.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
When I was sad or scared as a child, music helped me feel seen and put my feelings into words. As a millennial, that meant downloading songs off LimeWire or burning CDs late at night. I grew up during the “emo” phase and found comfort in bands like Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, and Our Lady Peace. Those songs put words to my experience and said what I couldn’t, so I’d play them on repeat until I felted soothed.
One song that always stood out was “Innocent” by Our Lady Peace. The lyrics hit me deeply.
“Oh, Tina’s losing faith in what she knows, Hates her music, hates all of her clothes, Thinks of surgery and a new nose, Every calorie is a war, And while she wishes she was a dancer, And that she’d never heard of cancer, She wishes God would give her some answers, And make her feel beautiful”
My dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was in middle school, and I was wrestling with faith, body image, and my own reflection in the mirror. That song gave language to feelings I didn’t yet know how to name.
Music made me feel seen. It helped me hold what I couldn’t talk about yet.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
One of the most life-changing moments for me came when I was at my lowest. A friend looked at me and said, “Is it okay if I hold the hope that you can recover, and you don’t have to believe it at all?”
That question cracked something open in me. For the first time, I had the permission to not force myself to be okay or pretend I believed things would get better.
Over time, I learned that healing doesn’t always begin with self-belief. It can start with being gently held by someone else. I carry that lesson into my work and into the culture of Embodied Wellness. As trauma therapists, we hold the hope for our clients until they’re ready to hold it for themselves.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I only had ten years to live, I’d stop scrolling mindlessly on social media and wasting time comparing my life to someone else’s highlight reel. I’d stop making excuses not to travel, telling myself “someday” instead of doing it today. I’d stop canceling plans because I “don’t feel like it” and start showing up for the moments that make life rich and real.
Most of all, I’d stop settling. Settling for everything from the clothes that don’t feel like me, for relationships that drain me, and for the way I sometimes talk to myself. I’d choose intention over convenience, connection over comfort, and self-respect over settling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.embodiedwellnesstherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodiedwellnesstherapy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/embodied-wellness-pllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embodiedwellnesstherapy
