Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Rivers Deal.
Hi, Dr. Deal; we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After earning my master’s in clinical psychology and subsequent doctorate in counseling in 2005, I moved to Oklahoma for a tenure track assistant professor position teaching in the department of psychology and counseling. Teaching was a great passion, and I received the honor of tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011.
After my husband and I experienced a devastating perinatal loss, I felt the need for a major change in my life. I left my comfortable tenured academic position, my home, friends, and private practice to start over in Austin. As an outsider who didn’t graduate from one of the local universities and therefore lacked a cohort of professional peers, infiltrating the Austin psychotherapy market was tricky for the first several years.
Two Rivers Psychotherapy was officially launched in 2012, and it has been both a tremendously rewarding endeavor and a challenge to be a solo business owner wearing multiple hats – clinician, billing and insurance claims specialist, scheduler, landlord, janitor, and office manager. Clinical issues such as infertility and reproductive trauma began to steer my professional training and niche, and I’ve been honored to hold the hands of hundreds of clients over the years while they struggle to create their desired families against the odds. Additionally, my areas of specialization include working with trauma/adverse life experiences (EMDR), anxiety, and depression and promoting holistic growth and wellness.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been several challenges along the way. Moving to Austin and re-establishing a private practice among thousands of existing mental health professionals was arduous, and as a result, I spent the first several years in the negative financially. Fortunately, my husband brought in a 2nd income that allowed me to persevere. For the first eight years of my practice, I accepted insurance, which was great for the clients who couldn’t afford to pay privately. However, most insurance companies compensate Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) poorly, paying about half the standard psychotherapy rate. Each year at tax time, there are many tears as I try to grapple with doing what I love and not being able to adequately financially provide for my family.
While getting settled in Austin as a small business owner, I underwent years of fertility treatments and suffered recurrent perinatal loss, which affected all aspects of my life and made it difficult at times to hold space for others in my office. Additionally, being a mental health provider during the pandemic felt like being a first responder without the credit. In January 2020, I signed a three-year lease for an office suite that housed three offices and one shared waiting room; as a business owner, this seemed like a sound financial decision as I could rent out the other two offices and largely pay for my office space. The pandemic hit two months after signing that lease, and people backed out of leasing my offices, leaving me without an income for 18 months. Being a mom (yes, that finally happened through adoption) and facilitating online kindergarten at home while trying to juggle telehealth video psychotherapy sessions with clients tested my sanity. As a mental health professional, I was also challenged with the day-to-day adjustments and fears of living through a pandemic and trying to help others cope with an unknown future. Over the years, I’ve considered shutting down my practice, but the consistent support from my mother and husband keeps me going. My incredible eight-year-old daughter is proud of what she calls her “feelings doctor” momma.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a solo mental health provider in private practice with 24 years of clinical experience under my belt. Additionally, I am part of a group practice here in Austin specializing in reproductive psychiatry and counseling. Areas of specialization consist of infertility, reproductive trauma, perinatal loss, anxiety, depression, trauma (EMDR), growth, and wellness. At the core, I am an existential psychotherapist who sees the necessity and inevitability of struggle, which can ultimately provide us with tremendous meaning and perspective. When you sit across from me in a therapeutic space, you will experience not only my longevity in the field, but a woman who’s comfortable in her own skin, which ultimately comes from an acceptance of life’s seasons and personal imperfections. As a dog lover and rescuer, you might find one of my dogs in the office as a furry source of comfort.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in Houston as an only child in a conservative, traditional family and was the first-born grandchild on both sides. My parents had a high-conflict marriage and split up during my elementary school years. Being raised predominantly by a single mother who worked, I was a latchkey child in the 80’s. I was a natural leader with a take charge style, highly independent and an “old soul” according to my mom. My parents invoked a strong appreciation and connection to the natural world, which manifested in the numerous trees and extensive gardens planted in each of our homes as well as our love for domestic animals. I took my first psychology class as a junior in high school and fell in love with the subject (and with a boy in that class). Another passion was dance; I was the captain of our drill team in high school and later a TCU Showgirl in college, which combined my love of dance performance with my leadership abilities. Dancing in front of hundreds of football fans during the half-time performance gave me the confidence to stand and teach in large lecture halls as a professor years later.
My mother owned an industrial tool supply company in Houston, and in the 80s, she was the only woman in this traditionally masculine line of work. Watching her juggle being a single mother and minority business owner inspired me to see the tremendous inner strength and capabilities that women possess. During my sophomore year of college, a good friend of mine tragically died in a car accident, and a month later, I discovered I was unexpectedly pregnant. Grieving these losses, I desired a major change and signed up to study abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a year. This decision was life-changing, and it was on top of Arthur’s Seat (a large peak in Edinburgh) that I realized my professional trajectory was not dance but psychology. With this clarity, I knew I wanted to help and empower women. Traveling outside of the United States in my early 20’s cultivated a yearning to continue to experience an openness to various cultures, foods, practices, and viewpoints, which has continued to expand and inform my worldview beyond my Texas roots. I am a lifelong learner and seeker of knowledge paired with critical thinking.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.2psych.com
Image Credits
Bea Keller-Dupree, Amy Lickteig
