Sarah Levin, LPC
Prior to becoming a counselor, I was on the path toward becoming a physician. I obtained my degree in neuroscience, then worked as a researcher for several years in the fields of neurology and public health before attending medical school. Two years into my medical training, however, I was wrestling with the feeling that I wasn’t spending enough time doing what was truly important to me – which was and still is, fundamentally, to emotionally connect with people when they are suffering. It is an innate “talent” of mine, borne from a sensitive temperament. While the field of medicine is fascinating and exciting, I found that the components of authentic connection and vulnerability seemed to play second fiddle to the more intellectualized aspects of the field. I wanted to really get to know and connect with patients better than I might during morning rounds in a hospital or during a 15-minute office visit. Counseling, it seemed, a better fit for me in response to this realization. While it felt risky to embark on a new career, I feel very privileged and grateful to get to know my clients as well as I do, and to be a source of support for them during the dark times – as well as the not-so-dark times.
In my spare time, I have a lot of hobbies, from playing the violin to building furniture to amateur photography (with a particular fondness for yellow flowers, apparently).
