03/31/2026
Closing out Social Work Month by recognizing Licensed Certified Social Worker, Sarah Phillips!
Sarah makes a difference every day at FBCBT through her compassion and dedication. We’re grateful for her!
A little about how Sarah found social work:
For me, it started with loss. My uncle struggled with addiction and schizophrenia, and he overdosed on his medication while my dad was picking up me, my sister, and our cousin from school. That meant my dad had to be the one to tell my cousin he was gone.
I was angry. I wanted to understand how something like that could happen, how someone could go inpatient, be released, and still not have their addiction treated. That anger led me to AP Psychology and to the documentary It’s a Girl, about gendercide in Southeast Asia. From that point on, I knew I had to do something. I did not know if it would be social work or psychology, but I knew I needed to act.
When I took Intro to Social Work, I fell in love with how flexible the field was and never looked back.
After graduating, I worked inpatient at Vantage Point. I quickly realized those kids needed someone with more experience than I had as a brand new social worker. The stress was also taking a real physical toll on my chronic back pain. Since I have always loved the medical field, I transitioned into dialysis and found that I truly loved the work. I felt called to it.
Then my endometriosis, which was undiagnosed at the time, made in-person work unsustainable. I moved into a remote role while I searched for answers and eventually had surgery. Once my condition became more manageable, I missed being around people and started exploring in-person roles again. My MSW best friend and my husband had always encouraged me to pursue therapy, and my clients often told me they wished they could continue working with me. So I decided to give it a try.
I will always identify as a social worker first, not a therapist. Therapy is something I enjoy, but social work is what drives me.
