Thrive & Shine Counseling has been in the mind of Clinical Director/Owner, Sarah O'Brien, since high school. She has known she wanted to be a mental health therapist since then and she has diligently worked at every step, at every level along the way to achieve her dream of owning and operating her own private practice. Over the course of her 14+ year career in mental health, Sarah has been exposed to a variety of settings providing mental health treatment and to a variety of  individuals seeking out mental health treatment. She has found her exposure to so many types of people, organizations, settings, and disorders to be essential in her current work with clients. Sarah always offers a non-judgmental, unbiased treatment/therapy space to ANY and ALL who seek out her guidance. Furthermore, Sarah has gained valuable experience in internships that had her practicing in many of those various settings to include inpatient psychiatry at academic hospitals, EAP services/private practice, outpatient clinic completing adolescent substance use assessments & referrals, conducting DBT skills groups, traditional 'talk-therapy,' and providing case management services to individuals with a variety of Mental Health Disorders and Diagnoses at Community Services Boards (CSB). ​She then officially began her career providing Mental Health Skill Building services to an adult population with Serious and Severe Mental Health Disorders. She spent several years assisting clients to remain independent in their community by retaining housing, medical, and financial benefits, attending appointments and socializing with peers. It was during this time, Sarah completed her supervision and experience for licensure. ​Sarah left a city CSB for a county CSB and finished requirements (passing the exam!) for licensure to practice clinical social work. While serving her clients at this location, Sarah provided case management services, outpatient psychotherapy services, substance use/relapse prevention services and groups, support for medication management appointments, home-visits, and crisis management & intervention services (for voluntary and involuntary hospital admissions). She also has experience with mandated individual and group treatment both for substance use disorders and mental health disorders. ​She started her practice in 2016 and has never looked back! She loves the flexibility in her current role, as this helps her create and maintain balance in life and self-care, for which Sarah is a huge advocate (for self and clients!). She believes she was "made" for this kind of work and often uses anecdotes and self-disclosure to provide support and validation for clients' symptoms and experiences.