I met Sarah McClelland when we were graduate students in San Antonio. She was personable, funny, and gosh, was she always in amazing physical shape!!! After grad school, she moved to Chicago, has been working as a clinician at a group practice. We’ve kept in touch through the years, and I was super-excited to see that she took the plunge and opened up her own shop in May.
Her innovative practice, Chicago Mind & Body, is a psychotherapy practice providing clinical counseling services with an integrated focus on exercise and nutrition habits to promote overall balance.
I recently interviewed Sarah to hear more about her new practice, which is located in the West Loop in Chicago.
Q: Congrats on your new practice! It’s truly integrative behavioral health, which we need more of in our country. What was your inspiration for Chicago Mind & Body?
A: I’ve always noticed in my personal life the benefits of eating well and working out. I love the feeling when I work out – I love when I do it, and I love how I feel after. And of course, I believe in the value of clinical and mental health counseling. Good nutrition and exercise, along with therapy, is also proven to help fight depression and anxiety, so it made sense to me to use this approach.
Q: Tell me about your own fitness routine.
A: Ever since I was a little girl, I was obsessed with riding horses. I started when I was 8 years old, and I still ride whenever I get the chance. In college, I always ran or hit the gym. Now I lift weights several days a week – working out is my “coffee” for the day!! But I’d say I work out typically, 5-6 days a week.
Q: How do you integrate exercise with your clients’ treatment plans? How do you deal with those that are resistant?
A: I base everything on my clinical modality, which is a lot of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness work, and I am very client-centered. Of course, no two clients are alike so I customize everything. I always go into a session assuming my clients are their own experts.
If a person says to me, “I don’t exercise, I don’t have time” then I go right to self-care and how important it is to our whole state of being. I am never going to force someone to do something they don’t want to do. But I explore it. I will talk to them about things they might want to try, or things they used to do. But the bottom line is that I’m not going to tell someone to run if they hate running.
Q: Sleeping and eating patterns are always important areas to address with clients.
A: Yes, I see a lot of clients with many different concerns about their eating. Maybe they are a binge-eater or maybe their relationship with food is bad – like, they will restrict themselves for a week after they indulged at a party. I try to shift the focus with my clients to look at food at nourishment for their bodies – not “good” or “bad” and for them to not use food as punishment.
Q: Do you find that people want to see changes right away?
A: A lot of our clients want the quick fix and as we all know, there is none. But people can change and shift their thinking over time. There are so many fads right now. I use my sessions for educations purposes with regards to their own eating patterns and help guide them on a different path.
Q: What has been your proudest moment as a therapist?
A: Seeing people get better! I love seeing when they have improved and we terminate services because they don’t need me anymore. It makes me really happy seeing people do well. It’s such a privilege for people to share their lives and stories with me and to trust me to be a part of that.
Q: What is your vision for the future of Chicago Mind & Body, say, five years down the road?
A: I envision one day having my practice be a place where people can come for not only mental health counseling, but also having a workout room with weights and cardio, and rooms where myself and other clinicians can run groups. I’m also interested in starting some therapeutic walking groups around the city.
Q: I have no doubt you’ll make that happen!!
A: That’s the goal.
Q: I’m definately coming to see your place next time I’m in town.
A: I’m holding you to that!
Chicago Mind & Body is located at 25 E. Washington Street in the loop. They serve adults and couples 18 years and upup. Visit their website at www.chicagomindandbody.com for more information. Contact Sarah via email at sfarris@chicagomindandbody.com.
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