Hi, I’m Sarah.

The last year has brought profound shifts, partly due to perimenopause, where I found myself walking away from my therapy practice and towards travel - both personal and in my work.

I am a natural born traveller! Maybe due to my mixed Indian and British heritage which meant I first got on a plane to India when I was two. Since then I have been immersed in many different cultures, languages and lands. As I write I am in Mexico, having just spent two months in Guatemala researching the Mayan vision of menopause (as well as discovering my love for hammocks).

Being of mixed heritage has also had it’s challenges. I grew up in London during the 80s race riots, where I learnt early what it meant to be brown in a white world and what it took to fit in. Coupled with ambitious parents, by my twenties, I had mastered the art of achievement - head girl, MBA, management consultant, the house and the relationship. From the outside, it looked like success but inside I felt flat.

At 27, I hit rock bottom. I woke with tears, numbed myself with wine at night, and couldn’t understand why I was so broken. I picked up the Yellow Pages and searched for a psychotherapist, the first step in unravelling the life I had built and finding my way back to aliveness.

I embarked on a journey of spiritual discovery through shamanism, buddhism and walking ancient pilgrim routes (including the Camino de Santiago, Italy’s Via Francigena and Japan’s Kumano Kodo)

Life became less about achievement and more about discovering who I really was beneath all the conditioning. It was not a predetermined path, but one forged one (often wobbly) step at a time. I finally stepped away from management consultancy when I was 42.

Since then I have become a potter, a homeopath, a published author and went onto train as a therapist - in breathwork and trauma release and then IFS psychotherapy.

As perimenopause hit, I became acutely aware of my tendancy to overgive, overhold and be over-responsible. Last year, at 52, I decided to ditch it all - clients, groupwork, even the retreats I was running.

All I wanted to do was travel. This also coincided with my daughter turning 18. I was free! Or so I thought.

What would I do for a living? Surely Lily still needed me? Where would I go?

I took the month of June off to figure it out, hopefully by then my direction would be clearer, maybe I’d even get the energy back for client work. July came and nothing.

Then in August, a random email came - the opportunity to be operations manager on an IFS retreat led by Dick Schwartz across the Camino de Santiago. Now that excited me!

Being part of the IFS Camino held by Sarah was a gift. She carried the space with such care and presence, both grounding and luminous. There was a quiet intelligence in how she tended to each of us, making sure we were not only supported logistically but also seen, steady, and safe enough to open. Her attunement allowed the group to become something more than travelers. Sarah’s way of holding space made the pilgrimage itself feel like a living field of grace.

Elizabeth Brewer, Psy.D.

This is the work I now offer.

What I bring

I design and hold the practical architecture of each journey, from routes and accommodation to pacing, transitions, and the many details that allow a group to move with ease.

My background in management consulting brings a level of rigour and organisation that means the structure is reliable, considered, and able to hold complexity without becoming rigid.

Alongside this, I hold the group process as it unfolds, creating a space that allows for depth, trust, and individual experience within a shared journey. This includes knowing when to bring structure, and when to step back and let something emerge.

My work draws on training in trauma-informed practice, Internal Family Systems, and somatic approaches, not as techniques to apply, but as ways of listening to what is happening beneath the surface. Each journey is carefully held, but not controlled. Well organised, but not over-structured. This balance is what allows people to settle, and for something real to begin to move.

“I had the absolute pleasure of attending the IFS Camino retreat in 2025 organised by Sarah Samuel. The experience was brilliant with morning workshops led by Richard Schwartz and Jeanne Catanzaro followed by afternoon walks on the Camino De Santiago. I was particularly impressed by the organisational efficiency and attention to detail. Sarah was meticulous in planning the event. As participants, we were able to reach out to her thanks to open lines of communication and her warm presence was very reassuring. Thank you Sarah. “

Dr Abrar Hussain FRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist

Books and Publications

In 2017, I wrote a book about crafting, creativity and mindfulness, entitled "Mindful Crafting: The Maker's Creative Journey" published by Quarto. I was then asked what else I might like to write a book about and travel was the obvious answer!

In 2019 I finished “Mindful Travelling: Journeying the World, Discovering Yourself” also for Quarto .

My writing has appeared in numerous publications.

Qualifications include an MBA (Lancaster University), BSc Marketing (Reading University), Homeopathy Graduate (Lakeside College), Breathwork and Trauma Release Qualifications (Breathing Space and Giten Tonken), Internal Family Systems Trainings (Stepping Stones with Derek Scott and Drawing into Self Trainings with Ruth Culver )