Member Spotlight - SARAH MOSSA, ICA President-Elect and LCPC from Shiloh, Illinois

Hey everyone! Christine Barker here, and back interviewing AWESOME people who deserve to be in the ICA membership spotlight! Next up… SARAH MOSSA! If her name sounds familiar, it’s because Sarah is the President-Elect of ICA. She will take the reins as President in the summer of 2023. And get excited, because she has some big ideas! Ideas that she could not share with me, because, you know, high- level, private stuff. Nevertheless, it was clear Sarah is genuinely invested in the

members of the Illinois Counseling Association. So much so that she wants to MEET THEM… MEET YOU! If you are attending the ICA conference on Friday, November 11th, you will have the opportunity to meet her at the Sarah Mossa Meet - n - Greet after the conference from 4:15 pm-5 pm, in Conference Room I (located down the stairs, across from the hotel restaurant). As Sarah mentioned in her interview, her favorite part of ICA is professional development, which includes networking with her peers! She said each person she meets is an opportunity to learn new things. Sarah is extremely interested in meeting as many members as she can and hearing their ideas. So come grab a coffee and gab about your thoughts with her!

Through my interview with Sarah, I learned that she not only is a clinician herself but also owns a private practice called A Calming Place in Shiloh, IL. She works on and off with government contracts to write or provide training and is an adjunct faculty for a local community college.Sarah was most excited about her new role as President- Elect, and when I asked her how she will be as President, she answered, “very approachable, open to new ideas about connecting members, agencies, students, and practices.” She really has a passion for experiences in whicheveryone can learn from each other! Sarah also has her MBA, which she expressed will lend well to helping with the budget and bottom line. She is also a business analyst for Sedona Technologies, where she spends time helping write manuals for indigenous populations to utilize a particular government service. Fun fact: Sarah started out as a genetics counselor, working ina cell biology and physiology lab at the University of Pittsburgh where she performed surgeries on frogs collecting oocytes for the cystic fibrosis research program! Ultimately, she wanted to help people struggling to get pregnant have babies. She was deterred from this career path by a chemistry teacher who wouldn’t allow women to pass his class. Her motivation to help others ledher to the field of counseling, where she was drawn to helping counsel those with perinatal and postnatal anxiety and depression. “Knowing what we do from Bowlby, helping one mother have a secure attachment with her child will help their future generations, and gives me hope for the future of the world.”

It was clear in our conversation that Sarah loves this profession. Seeing her clients reach theirgoals was among the top things she loves about her work. On a personal level, she finds that this profession enriches her life by allowing for introspection. “I learn from my clients' way of thinking, my thinking about their thinking, my students thinking, my thinking about the students thinking, and I have time to process these thoughts with my therapist or other colleagues.”

Inspiration in Sarah’s life comes from Jesus and the teachings of the Bible. Professionally, shefinds Sue Johnson, John and Julie Gottman, Adler, Bowlby, and Festinger (social psychology) all very relevant and important in her conversations with clients.

After asking Sarah what advice she would give to someone who wants to enter our profession, she responded calmly and sweetly; it gave me a sneak peek into what therapy with her would be like. With a softened tone, she responded, “It is okay if you come into the field with trauma that ledyou here. Many of us do have this experience. What's important is to get into your own weekly therapy, and begin. This will help you in your practice of therapy for others because you will have understanding and insights. The shoemaker must buy and wear shoes. It is easier for the designer of shoes, the builder of shoes, to understand what fits one's own feet when one is building shoes conjointly for themselves. In this current pandemic world, we are walking conjointly alongside our clients. It is a new place in therapy, a different world to start in preparation.” What a great analogy! And Sarah’s delivery created a warm and welcoming feeling, which I can expect she brings to all of her encounters.

Then she switched hats. She became an advocate. Sarah began explaining how we shouldn’t be afraid to call regarding our student loans and ask about the Income- Driven Repayment Plan (which was news to me!). She educated me on non-profit workers, their options for $0.00 loan payments, and the Obama regulations, explaining that after you pay 10 years even at, $0.00 a month, they forgive the rest and make sure to consolidate and add you on a plan while theseregulations are still in effect! So my charge to you is to call your loan servicer and get things in place.

Then she switched hats again. She went into business mode. “Income diversity is key. Having your hands in multiple options is helpful if there is a lull in any one section of your business. Hence why you see that I do multiple things.”

Finally, one more switch of the hat. This time into the role of a motivational

speaker. “This also helps to keep you inspired. Schedule your four weeks off a year, and it's okayfor 1-2 weeks to visit family. 1-2 weeks need to be to rest and or explore the world. Again, find inspiration, and rejuvenate the spirit! Don't be afraid to work internationally, or to try things for 6 months to a year. These are resume builders and adventures in figuring out what works for your career.”

Call me motivated! To say that Sarah Mossa is a well-versed leader is an understatement. Her advice was humble and versatile, as is her experience, making her a promising ICA President-Elect. She has the capacity to see things from all perspectives because of who she is as an open-hearted, warm and approachable person, and also as a businesswoman, advocate, educator, connector, and life learner. It was truly a blessing to get to know Sarah. And she wants to get to know YOU! Don’t forget to see Sarah after ICA conference workshops conclude for the day on Friday! You won’t want to miss getting to meet her!