Conversations with the Inspiring Sharon Sudol

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Sudol.

Sharon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Years ago, I was helping out my mother, a Psychologist in private practice. After doing that for a while, I was curious…could I do what she was doing? I knew I wanted to do more than I was. My “career” up to that point consisted of administrative jobs that always left me wanting. I wanted to do something I was proud of. I wanted to do something that would make a difference.

I went back to school to be a nurse and during nursing school, I had an epiphany. Within a short period of time, I had dropped out of nursing school and applied to graduate school to become a counselor. Since then, I never looked back.

I have kept going forward – always learning. I don’t think there will ever be an end to what I can learn. I have definitely been challenged as much of what I’ve done has taken me out of my comfort zone. If you knew me when I was young, you might not believe the things I ended up doing (I sometimes don’t). I was pretty shy and conservative. I didn’t like doing anything that was uncomfortable.

Has it been a smooth road?
Looking back, when I was in school, I didn’t think about what I was doing; I just kept going. I think I stayed in the moment just focusing on what I needed to do for whatever class I was taking at the time. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other until I was done. I wouldn’t say it was easy. I think I was just trying to stay afloat and if I stopped moving, I would drown. (It makes me think of Dory the fish in the movie Finding Nemo when she says “just keep swimming, just keep swimming!”)

My advice would be to stay focused on your goal and keep making steps towards the goal. I am continually challenged in the counseling field and trying to improve what I do and how I do it. I struggled when I wasn’t able to help someone or I felt that I didn’t know enough. I believe I will run into that time and time again. I will never know everything there is to know.

There are so many different types of therapy out there. One person cannot possibly learn all the different modalities (not only time, but the expense!). I have decided to focus on treating trauma. I would tell anyone planning on getting into the field to figure out the population you like to work with and what you would like to focus on treating. The goal isn’t to know everything; it’s to do one thing well.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into MapleSprout Therapy Services story. Tell us more about the business.
I don’t see people as a diagnosis. I look through the lens of trauma. We have all experienced trauma. Anything can be traumatic. The nature of trauma is that something gets stuck in our system and we don’t have conscious control over what happens in our bodies and minds. Some people wonder, “why can’t I just stop it?” or they’ve been told by others to stop doing something. What I help people work on is to find the underlying mechanisms that no longer serve them and transform how their systems work. We don’t focus on the symptoms, we focus on the cause of the symptoms.
I use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy as the structure of my treatment. Inside that structure, I add in other kinds of work that can help move things along.

Recently, I added LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System) Neurofeedback into what I do. I describe EMDR and other modalities of therapy as one way to get into a person’s system. Neurofeedback is another door to the system – another way in – another way to soften things up and make changes. The combination of both in-depth therapies and Neurofeedback can be very powerful.
This is especially meaningful to people who have been in therapy before and either didn’t feel like they were reaching the problem or have hit a wall with their work.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I had a built-in first mentor with my mother. I became interested in doing EMDR therapy because my mom learned it and talked about it. For years, I heard about it. Admittedly, sometimes I got tired of hearing about it! It must have sunk in somehow. My other mentors were supervisors I had during internships and a residency. Many of the other therapists I worked with have been wonderful mentors and I’ve also gotten to be the mentor, too.

I take opportunities to meet people in person at either networking events, conferences or Continuing Education courses. Many education courses are being held online and I find this keeps me in a little comfortable cocoon. It’s okay sometimes, but if I did that all the time, I wouldn’t get to meet such interesting people. This is not easy for me being that I’m an introvert and being at events with large groups are uncomfortable for me. I am grateful that I’ve engaged in my own EMDR therapy over the years in order to overcome much of my discomfort. I constantly work on whatever issues might come up to keep myself in the best working order possible.

Pricing:

• Therapy & Neurofeedback services range from $155-$230

Contact Info:

• Address: 4545 E Shea Blvd, Suite 235
  Phoenix, AZ 85028
• Website: www.maplesprouttherapy.com
• Phone: 602-619-3971
• Email: info@maplesprouttherapy.com

Image Credit:
Phil Sudol

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