Sarah Carpenter, M.Ed., LPC

Sarah Carpenter has loved learning and teaching since she was in kindergarten, has been fascinated with the counseling process since the popularity of I’m OK, You’re OK, and has loved working with teenagers since her college days as a Young Life camp counselor. At The Life Empowerment Center, Sarah now has the joy and privilege of doing what she loves- academic coaching and counseling.

Sarah discovered TLEC in 2006 while surfing the web looking for job opportunities as a counseling intern, and quickly contacted James Ochoa and offered to work in his office, even though he was not advertising any openings. The synergy and good fit were evident immediately, and since then, with the support of James as her LPC Supervisor, she completed her licensure and continues to combine her teaching skills and counseling abilities in a unique job perfectly suited to her passions.

Sarah earned her BA in English and teacher certification at The University of Texas, and then served for ten years in AISD as a middle school teacher. After completing her Master of Education in Educational Psychology at UT in 1987, she spent the next eighteen years as an award-winning middle school and high school counselor in Southern California. In 2006, she earned the prestigious title of NCC, a certification from the National Board of Certified Counselors, and in 2007, she finished a rigorous program of certification as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, having trained in Austin and California with noted therapist and author Maggie Kline in Dr. Peter Levine’s naturalistic, mindful approach to trauma healing.

Accustomed to working within the public school system to impact the lives of underachieving gifted and high potential learners, she continues to take a team approach with parents and teachers as an advocate at 504 meetings. Sarah applies knowledge of neurodevelopmental theory in academic coaching, and her years of experience working with high school seniors in the college application process further enhance her skills. Sarah also very much enjoys working with college and graduate students from all the colleges in the area, and often collaborates with collegiate offices for Students with Disabilities.

In helping clients with the stress, depression and anxiety that often accompany ADHD, she uses an interpersonal neurobiological approach, thereby creating an empathic relationship with the client that involves mutual respect, openness and a sincere curiosity about how the mind and body are inextricably involved in learning, stress, and healing. In the role as advocate, mentor, and coach, she encourages the client to discover and implement personalized strategies for success.