Sarah Hopton Psychotherapy

Sarah Hopton Psychotherapy Psychotherapist specialising in trauma, neurodivergence & addiction. Helping high-functioning humans unravel, reconnect & rebuild. The brave-but-burned-out.

Online & in-person therapy in Burton on Trent & Bingham
www.sarahhopton.com If you’re new here—hello, I’m Sarah. I’m a psychotherapist, writer, and relentless question-asker, now practising under my own name after years as Life on Dreams. This page is a space where I’ll be sharing thoughts on therapy, healing, and being human. It’s for the high-functioning-but-exhausted. The quietly curious. The ones who’ve been holding it all together but need somewhere to let go. I work with people navigating trauma, addiction, burnout, identity shifts, neurodivergence, and those big moments when life feels both too much and not enough. My approach is integrative, relational, and real. I blend deep therapeutic training with the lived experience of someone who’s had to sit in the dark, too. Whether you’re looking for support, inspiration, or just want to hear a voice that doesn’t believe you need to be fixed—I’m glad you’re here. You can learn more about my practice and how to work with me at:
👉 www.sarahhopton.com

This space is for conversations that go beneath the surface. Let’s start something honest.

Discover the fascinating world of the Winter Wren, a small bird with a fierce spirit! From its quiet presence in the und...
02/12/2025

Discover the fascinating world of the Winter Wren, a small bird with a fierce spirit! From its quiet presence in the undergrowth to its enchanting song, there's so much to appreciate. Read more about this incredible bird: https://wix.to/7l8CgEK

The wren is easy to miss. Brown, quiet, mouse-like in the undergrowth. She doesn’t have the glamour of the robin, the brightness of the goldfinch, or the flash of the jay.But listen closely on a cold December morning, and you’ll hear her. A song so fierce it cuts through frost and silence. A voi...

November NewsletterNovember has been a month of truth-telling at the forest edge.A trapped muntjac at dawn.A nervous sys...
26/11/2025

November Newsletter
November has been a month of truth-telling at the forest edge.
A trapped muntjac at dawn.
A nervous system in full panic.
A reminder that freedom is rarely graceful — sometimes it’s messy, shaking, instinctual… and still freedom.
This month’s newsletter is full of that energy.
Real talk about burnout, desire, survival, and the quiet work of finding your way back to yourself.
Inside you’ll find:
✨ A story about a muntjac deer and what he taught me about therapy
✨ New blog posts on nervous system overload, midlife desire, creativity as survival & wintering
✨ My latest published pieces on Counselling Directory
✨ A behind-the-scenes update on what I’m writing for 2026
✨ A first look at the online therapeutic resource space I’m building
✨ And the soundtrack that’s been carrying me through the darker days (Will Varley fans… come closer)
If you’re tired, stretched thin, or quietly unravelling behind the scenes, this one’s for you.
Read the full November issue:

Hello ${contact.name.first} Welcome back to From the Forest Edge — my monthly-ish letter for those of us who live in the in-betweens. Between burnout and breakthrough. Between old patterns and something not-yet-known. Between the version of ourselves the world expects and the truth that’s quietl...

Discover the magic of the Italian Riviera. Let the salt air and stunning views awaken your senses. 🌊✨ Read more about th...
26/11/2025

Discover the magic of the Italian Riviera. Let the salt air and stunning views awaken your senses. 🌊✨ Read more about this captivating journey here: https://wix.to/tmjxck3

I didn’t expect the sea to feel like this.Standing on the Italian Riviera, salt air tangled in my hair, light bending across the water in colours too bold for English skies, I felt something loosen. Not just my shoulders. Something deeper. Something that had been braced for too long.The sea didn.....

Darker months are here, and it's time to nourish your nervous system! Explore our latest blog for tips on walking throug...
21/11/2025

Darker months are here, and it's time to nourish your nervous system! Explore our latest blog for tips on walking through these seasonal changes with grace. Read more: https://wix.to/F3H5zZw

Walk through the woods in November and you’ll notice something subtle: the pace has shifted. The canopy has thinned. Leaves soften underfoot. The forest isn’t blooming, but it isn’t failing either. It’s simply wintering.And maybe we need to remember the same.The darker months aren’t a mist...

When your adult child walks away, you don’t just lose a connection — you lose a piece of your story.My new article for C...
21/11/2025

When your adult child walks away, you don’t just lose a connection — you lose a piece of your story.
My new article for Counselling Directory explores the silent ache of parental estrangement: the absence that isn’t mourning-but-not-presence, the “no funeral” grief of a child still alive but gone.

I talk about how this loss triggers our deepest survival patterns — the “I should’ve been enough” voice, the myth that love = perfect control.

And more importantly, how you can begin again: letting go of the perfect-parent myth, reclaiming your identity apart from the role, living without closure but with dignity.

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/articles/how-parents-begin-again-when-their-adult-child-walks-away

If this touches something in you — you’re not alone.

Explore how parents can find healing, meaning, and self-compassion after estrangement from an adult child.

Not everything we feel is a disorder. Sometimes, what we label as anxiety is just our nervous system reacting to the wor...
18/11/2025

Not everything we feel is a disorder. Sometimes, what we label as anxiety is just our nervous system reacting to the world around us. Join me as I explore this important topic on my blog! Read more: https://wix.to/lGQeaDN

Here’s a truth I wish more people knew: not everything you feel is a disorder.Sometimes what we call anxiety is simply your nervous system doing its job. Messy, inconvenient, too-loud maybe, but not broken.The Anxiety EpidemicSearch the word “anxiety” online and you’ll drown in checklists, d...

Not broken. Just adapted.That’s the heartbeat of my new article for Counselling Directory.So many people come into thera...
05/11/2025

Not broken. Just adapted.
That’s the heartbeat of my new article for Counselling Directory.
So many people come into therapy believing they’re “too sensitive,” “too much,” or “too reactive.” But what if those reactions aren’t flaws....they’re adaptations?
Your nervous system doesn’t make moral judgments. It doesn’t care about social polish or personal growth; its job is survival. And if it learned that vigilance, shutdown, or over-functioning kept you safe once upon a time, it’s only doing what it was wired to do.
The work of therapy isn’t about “fixing” that.
It’s about understanding it and slowly teaching the body that it’s safe enough to rest again.
You were never broken.
You were brilliantly adaptive.
Read the full article on Counselling Directory →
👉 https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/articles/not-broken-just-adapted-how-your-nervous-system-kept-you-alive

Discover how your nervous system’s survival responses shape behaviour – and how therapy helps your body feel safe again.

Desire isn’t something we grow out of, it’s something we grow back into.This piece is for the women who’ve spent decades...
03/11/2025

Desire isn’t something we grow out of, it’s something we grow back into.

This piece is for the women who’ve spent decades tending to everyone else’s needs and are suddenly waking up hungry, for truth, for depth, for something that actually feels alive again.

It’s not a midlife crisis. It’s a reclamation.

If you’ve been told to tone it down, shrink yourself, or “be grateful for what you have,” this one’s for you.

Read the full post here: https://www.sarahhopton.com/post/reclaiming-desire-why-midlife-women-are-done-settling

You’re not asking for too much.
You’re just remembering who you are.

Desire has been misunderstood for too long. We’re taught to fear it, repress it, or channel it into acceptable forms: work harder, care more, keep everyone else satisfied.But desire is wild. It’s messy, inconvenient, and sometimes disruptive. And that’s exactly why it matters.At midlife, somet...

October’s letter has just gone out, a reflection on midlife rebellion, creative courage, woodland clearings, and the qu...
28/10/2025

October’s letter has just gone out, a reflection on midlife rebellion, creative courage, woodland clearings, and the quiet alchemy of change.
https://wix.to/ncivZKk
Inside, I write about:
What trees teach us about release
The joy of singing again with my choir
Creative encouragement (and a poem that’s now with a magazine!)
Seeing Caamp live and how their music became a metaphor for transformation
As ever, From the Forest Edge isn’t about being perfect or “fixed.” It’s a space for those of us living in the in-betweens, where growth, creativity, and wildness meet real life.
Same edge. Same mess. Same magic.

Sarah x

Sarah Hopton Psychotherapy, Down-to-earth counselling and psychotherapy for adults feeling burnt out, anxious or stuck. Based in Staffordshire & Nottinghamshire – online and in-person sessions available.

Somewhere between who we were told to be and who we actually are, there’s a quiet rebellion happening.It’s not loud or g...
26/10/2025

Somewhere between who we were told to be and who we actually are, there’s a quiet rebellion happening.
It’s not loud or glittery. It doesn’t look like crisis—it looks like women coming home to themselves.

Midlife isn’t a breakdown. It’s a reckoning.
A peeling away of “shoulds,” of invisible labour, of trying to fit into rules that were never written with us in mind.

This piece is about that moment—the one where you realise belonging doesn’t mean shrinking.
It means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other women who’ve stopped apologising for existing on their own terms.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to burn down the old story and start again, this one’s for you.
Read Sisterhood & the Midlife Rebellion: Belonging Beyond the Old Rules → https://www.sarahhopton.com/post/sisterhood-the-midlife-rebellion-belonging-beyond-the-old-rules

When I was younger, I thought rebellion meant loud music, ripped jeans, and refusing to do what I was told. And in some ways, it did. But standing here in midlife, I’ve realised rebellion looks different now.Rebellion is saying no to what empties me. Rebellion is claiming space where I was told to...

Struggling to maintain productivity while battling ADHD at work? You're not alone! Discover strategies to navigate burno...
21/10/2025

Struggling to maintain productivity while battling ADHD at work? You're not alone! Discover strategies to navigate burnout and enhance your work experience in our latest blog: https://wix.to/UFHhku4

On paper, you look fine. You’re hitting deadlines (mostly), keeping up appearances, and working harder than most people realise. But underneath? You’re running on fumes. Your brain’s juggling a thousand tabs, you’re masking mistakes, and burnout is always one step behind you.This is the hidd...

Is therapy making you feel frustrated and lost? You're not alone! Sometimes it can seem pointless, but that's just part ...
21/10/2025

Is therapy making you feel frustrated and lost? You're not alone! Sometimes it can seem pointless, but that's just part of the journey. Embrace the messiness and know it’s leading you somewhere meaningful. Read more here: https://wix.to/1uFTKWQ

No one tells you this when you start therapy: sometimes it feels like nothing’s happening. You show up week after week, spill your guts, cry a bit, rage a bit and then you leave wondering: what was the point of that?You’re not imagining it. Therapy is messy. It can be frustrating, uncomfortable,...

Address

Burton Upon Trent
DE138EB

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 8pm
Tuesday 11am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 8:30pm
Thursday 11am - 8:30pm
Friday 11am - 7:30pm
Saturday 11am - 3pm

Telephone

+441283240256

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sarah Hopton Psychotherapy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Sarah Hopton Psychotherapy:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category