Dr. Sara Polley, MD

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Get to know Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist Dr. Sara Polley, who serves patients in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Selected as a Minnesota Monthly Top Doctor 2020, Dr. Polley is a highly accomplished child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She joined PrairieCare in 2015 and provides care in the Partial Hospitalization Program in Brooklyn Park.

Brooklyn Park is home to Minnesota’s only physician-owned and clinician led child and adolescent specialty psychiatric hospital, as well as the Medical Office Building providing outpatient levels of care. PrairieCare Brooklyn Park Campus will provide a full continuum of mental health care for youth, as well as intensive outpatient programming and clinic services for adults.

Interested in working with individuals throughout the lifespan, Dr. Polley appreciates the importance of family collaboration. She enjoys working on a multidisciplinary team in order to provide her patients with the most comprehensive care. Her special clinical interests include: substance use disorders, mood disorders in children, anxiety, dual diagnosis, motivational interviewing, as well as psychopharmacology and evidence-based medicine.

Originally from Minnesota, Dr. Polley completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota and the Institute of Child Development. She then went on to attend medical school at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She completed her adult psychiatry training in a joint program between Sheppard Pratt Hospital and the University of Maryland. 

Thereafter, she moved to Harvard Medical School to complete her fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital. She served as chief fellow during her final year at Harvard and was actively involved in medical education and teaching throughout her training.

With additional training and interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy and motivational interviewing techniques, Dr. Polley believes strongly in the role of the psychiatrist as diagnostician along with the judicious and responsible use of psychiatric medications to assist with symptoms management. She is especially passionate about working with and advocating for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders and has additional training in the psychiatric management of addictions for both adults and adolescents.

Triple board-certified, she is board-certified in adult psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and addiction medicine by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). The ABPN is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting high-quality patient care for the public through the initial and continuing certification of psychiatrists and neurologists.

Among her professional affiliations, Dr. Polley is an active member of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Child and adolescent psychiatry, also known as pediatric psychiatry, is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. A child and adolescent psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of thinking, feeling, as well as behavior affecting children, adolescents, and their families.

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