Sarah O’Callaghan Therapy

Sarah O’Callaghan Therapy Accredited CBT and EMDR psychotherapist
Parental Burnout Specialist
North East and Nationwide

04/01/2026

😍 Where I’ve been and where I’m heading this year 😍

It’s been a little quiet here lately — what was meant to be a short break turned into an accidental six-week hiatus.

Life asked for my attention elsewhere: I had flu just before Christmas, then a wonderfully full holiday, complete with sibling arguments that kept me on my toes! 🫣 Behind the scenes, I’ve also been closing negotiations on my new premises in the North East — an exciting step I can’t wait to share more about soon.

During this time, I realised that daily posts, even when scheduled, kept my head in my phone and away from what really matters to me — presence with my family, and being aligned with my values as a therapist. I’m learning that I don’t need to plough away at something every day to show up, especially when the work I love is already here.

So, Instagram will look a little different from me this year — I’ll be posting for connection, updates, and enjoyment, rather than feeling like I have to keep up with an algorithm.

I’m feeling ready to reconnect with both old clients and new ones this week, and I’m so grateful for this balance as I move forward. I’ll also be sharing more about my new business in the coming weeks — if you live in the North East, there will be a range of services from myself and other professionals, so feel free to give my page a follow.

Here’s to showing up differently, more gently, and in alignment with what matters most. 💛

💜 MUMS! 💜If I had a £ for every time someone mentions guilt as an overwhelming emotion day to day with their little ones...
11/11/2025

💜 MUMS! 💜

If I had a £ for every time someone mentions guilt as an overwhelming emotion day to day with their little ones I’d be a very rich woman!

But I’d be a millionaire if I had a £ everyone mentioned guilt when they REST 💵

We are so deeply conditioned to see rest as laziness… often through our own upbringing through caregivers not having awareness of their own dysregulated nervous systems.

You’ve learned to equate your worth with productivity, and slowing down feels unsafe- even if logically you know you are safe.

But your nervous system can’t heal in motion.
Rest isn’t a luxury — it’s maintenance.

Here’s what I’d focus on if you’re finding it hard to stop:
🧠 Notice the guilt without judging it
☕ Reframe rest as maintenance, not reward
🌿 Start micro — 5–10 minute pauses count
💛 Notice the difference it makes
🫶 Give yourself daily permission to rest

You don’t need to earn your downtime.
You need to allow it.

✨ The goal isn’t to do more — it’s to feel safe doing less.

🧐🧐🧐🧐Perfectionist parents often carry a deep ache beneath the surface — a sense that they should be coping better, doing...
04/11/2025

🧐🧐🧐🧐

Perfectionist parents often carry a deep ache beneath the surface — a sense that they should be coping better, doing more, or feeling happier. But so often, that drive for perfection is rooted in old wounds.

In therapy, I support parents to gently explore and heal those layers using:

✨ EMDR – helping the brain reprocess painful memories so they no longer hold the same emotional charge. This means the past feels like the past, rather than something you keep reliving in the present.

🧠 Trauma-focused CBT – making sense of how past experiences have shaped unhelpful beliefs like “I have to hold everything together” or “I’m not good enough.” Together, we learn to notice and reframe these patterns with compassion and evidence-based tools.

💛 Compassion-focused approaches – helping parents turn down the volume of their inner critic and build a kinder, more supportive relationship with themselves.

Working with trauma isn’t about erasing your story — it’s about learning to meet yourself with compassion and understanding, and shifting your outlook on some negative beliefs and interpretations about your last trauma.

Sound familiar? See 🔗 in bio to visit website for a free consultation call 📞

Perfectionism in parenting isn’t about vanity or control - it’s about safety, care, and deep love.If “lower your standar...
03/11/2025

Perfectionism in parenting isn’t about vanity or control - it’s about safety, care, and deep love.

If “lower your standards” feels impossible, it’s because those standards helped you cope.

You don’t need to drop them overnight — you deserve a space where “good enough” feels safe enough.

Is parenting becoming all consuming because of your unrelenting standards? Visit link in bio to book your free consultation call now 📞

💥 Are you being judged? Or are you judging you? 💥Some days it feels like you’re juggling a million things just to prove ...
29/10/2025

💥 Are you being judged? Or are you judging you? 💥

Some days it feels like you’re juggling a million things just to prove you’re coping. Checking, planning, tidying and overthinking… all because you’re worried someone might judge you.

Resting, asking for help, or letting things be a little messy doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human. 💛

You are already enough — even if the house isn’t perfect, the laundry isn’t done, or the to-do list keeps growing.

✨ Take a breath, let go of the invisible weight, and remember: you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. You’re doing enough.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Interestingly, I never once identified as a perfe...
24/10/2025

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Interestingly, I never once identified as a perfectionist person!

I always had to work super hard to get good results in school, was typically referred to as an ‘all-rounder’ which I took to mean ‘just ok’ at everything.

I had a place to study medicine which I didn’t make the grade for and ended up constantly chasing my tail to get to where I wanted to be in life.. which was a lot of hard work.

In motherhood… I read all the books and prepared like a boss for the arrival of my daughter, not once considering that things wouldn’t go to plan. My lovely dad once told me ‘she’s not a machine’ when I was suggesting we organise a day out around feeding times ( and needing to wake her up to feed her on the clock).

But not once did I consider these things part of trying to do things perfectly… but of course they were. And I’ve learned some tough lessons along the way…

As a perfectionist parent, I’ve spent years juggling work, kids, and home, trying to do everything ‘right’ I’ve snapped at my children, argued with my partner, skipped meals, and felt guilty for resting — all while believing I was failing if I asked for help or did things differently from my own parents.

Swipe through to see the 7 lessons I learned the messy way — and why your worth isn’t measured by how much you can do.

Address

Quadrus Business Centre
Boldon
NE359PF

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447859095020

Website

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