Sometimes we can be so preoccupied with the day to day stress of working in mental health that we forget to connect to our creativity. In this interview Sarah Wassall explains how being a professional actor and psychologist enriches her work. Prepare to feel your creativity returning!
Sarah is a Clinical Psychologist, DDP Therapist, Actor, and Mental Health Consultant to Creative Arts Projects. She specialises in working with those who have experienced developmental trauma, and child and adolescent mental health services for young people who are adopted or in care. Her approach focuses on the therapeutic importance of compassion to self and others, integration and regulation of mind and body, and developing resilience through relational work. Sarah worked with Unicorn Theatre as consultant on The Year 7 Project; a free six-week scheme of learning that addresses periods of transition, change and adaptation, using Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales. Sarah is a versatile actor with experience in theatre, comedy improvisation, corporate events, training and film.
● Hear how Sarah started life as both an actor and psychologist, and her time in secondary school 01:15
● How Sarah’s career developed from school and her focus became psychology 02:24
● How Sarah came to explore acting again, and how it came back into her life at the right moment with the confidence that comes from having a psychology career as a foundation for self-esteem as a professional 03:14
● Sarah discusses the differences between how she was treated as a psychologist and actor in light of Covid 06.14
● Here Sarah explores battling what you do and don’t compromise on, especially as a woman, whilst holding on to your sense of self-esteem and value 07:34
● Sarah compares the job security taken for granted with psychology compared to the instability of the creative arts, especially during Covid 10:36
● Sarah talks about what her psychology work looks like at the moment, after going independent 11:46
● What a typical week looks like for Sarah 13:59
● How Sarah comes across creative arts consultancy projects to work on 15:54
● A discussion on not being embarrassed to use your connections and reach out to the people you know 17.11
● We explore the difficulty of promoting yourself – your brand and your value 19:46
● We discuss dealing with typecasting and keeping a sense of identity 25.06
● Sarah explains what DDP is (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy) 27:23
● Sarah talks about how DDP principles and theatre can work together, exploring playfulness and clowning 29:07
● Sarah talks about how she looks after herself with all the judgement in both professions 33:26
● How to connect with Sarah 42:46
Link to Sarah’s work with the Unicorn theatre:
You can find Sarah online at:
https://ddpnetwork.org/professionals/find-a-practitioner-or-therapist/sarah-wassall/
insta: @sarah_feltham_actor www.instagram.com/sarah_feltham_actor/
twitter: @Dr_SarahWassall twitter.com/Dr_SarahWassall
twitter: @DrSarah_Feltham twitter.com/DrSarah_Feltham
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