Meet Sarah Haider of Gameplan Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Haider.

Sarah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2008, I moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and began working as a psychologist with children who experienced severe anxiety and OCD. I trained under Dr. Jenny Yip at the Renewed Freedom Center in Los Angeles, and I learned to skillfully apply very specific techniques to treat a number of anxiety diagnoses.

I loved going to work every day because the families were amazing and because the children got better. It was remarkable! In my training and previous experiences, children did not get well so quickly, or with lasting results. It was refreshing to be working from an evidence-based model that was effective for even the most severe cases of anxiety. I evolved from a staff psychologist to Director of Training at Renewed Freedom Center.

In 2016, my husband and I moved to Denver and I began seeing my patients in California remotely. So, I have been doing virtual therapy well before safer-at-home restrictions became commonplace. I transitioned to opening Gameplan Therapy in 2018 and began seeing patients in both California and Colorado.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When I moved from Los Angeles to Denver, I remained a therapist for many of my patients in Los Angeles. I had to navigate remote/virtual therapy before I knew any colleagues who practiced from the same model. This transition had many challenges. For example, I ask kids to expose themselves to their fears, and I often do this with them in session- not merely give it as an assignment to try on their own. This is hard work, and kids have strong reactions when they are scared. They will often leave the room, throw the iPad, or just refuse to participate.

It took some navigating to figure out how to engage children who are not interested in attending the session. Plus, as we all know by now, little kids don’t have sustained attention to watch a screen for the length of a typical session, so I had to change the way I structured therapy sessions to either be shorter, involve the parents, or allow for frequent breaks.

Please tell us about Gameplan Therapy.
We treat pediatric anxiety, and we typically work with people who have very severe anxiety. We treat from an exposure-based model, so the challenge is to find innovative ways to get kids on board with facing their worst fear. We do all of these exposures in session with our patients and/or their families.

We have had so many nutty experiences doing exposures. For instance, I have gone to pet stores to touch snakes, dogs, or other animals. I have been in countless shops or restaurants to ensure the patient says something they perceive to be silly or stupid to a stranger (and we’ve come up with some legitimately weird questions). I’ve encouraged patients to touch knives, light candles, clean up the dog’s vomit, or touch gross/dirty surfaces. You name it, and we’re up for it! Each patient and/or their family gets a Gameplan for the week- which lists the things they are supposed to do to overcome their anxiety that week. This structure is unique and keeps everyone including the therapist – accountable.

In addition to having a lead psychologist on each case that meets with families on an as-needed basis, most families also get an anxiety coach with whom they work with weekly. The lead psychologist will create the treatment plan, and the coach works with the family one-one to do the exposures with them and keep the person encouraged throughout the experience. We like to think of treatment through this model: The patient is the team captain, the psychologist is the head coach, the anxiety coach is the personal trainer, and the family members and teachers are the teammates. So, if the team captain has a tough week reaching their goals, everyone else on the team can contribute so that we still get a “win” and make progress that week.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Initially, I worked from home for my remote sessions. After I started Gameplan Therapy, I got a brick and mortar office. I have since learned that it is much better for me to be in my office for therapy sessions, even when they are conducted remotely.

Contact Info:

• Address: 7120 E. Orchard Rd.
  Suite 305 Centennial, CO 80111
• Website: www.gameplantherapy.com
• Phone: 303-747-5855
• Email: info@gameplantherapy.com

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