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Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #124019

"Where you are, is not who you are."

- Nayyirah Waheed

 

Hello. I'm glad you're here. I welcome all the parts, experiences, relationships, geographies, ancestors, identities, and reasons that brought you here today. It's a privilege and a pleasure to create a space for your story, your healing, your life, and whatever else you'd like to share. I think it's difficult to do this thing we call "life" alone, and it really is our relationship to ourselves and others that can bring insight and healing. I'd love to get to know you. Please use the link below to reach to me via email.

About Me

 

Sandy (she/her) is a Chinese-American daughter of refugees of the Vietnam War. Her father is Cantonese from Guangzhou and her mother is Teo-Chew, both growing up in Vietnam. Sandy is the only daughter of five siblings, spending much of her youth in Texas. Her first career in corporate sales made her realize how supporting the healing of others felt more authentic than remaining in the business world. She considers it a calling and a privilege to work on healing inter-generational trauma and cultivating the resilience, power, and joy that is possible when we make space for deep, committed healing. She currently lives in the SF Bay Area, unceded Ohlone territory, with her partner, adorable infant, and sleepy gray tabby cat.

 

My Approach

 

It can be so incredibly nourishing when we can share our story with a compassionate other. Pain can transform into medicine through authentic expression, feeling witnessed, and being supported. I am anchored in the belief that nothing is inherently wrong with us and that we sometimes need help understanding the obstacles to discovering one’s most authentic self. My approach is warm, affirming, heart centered, depth oriented, mindful, and intuitive.

 

My practice is steeped in the principles of mindfulness with an anti-oppressive framework. I am humbly and eternally a student in unlearning oppressive structures that influence race, sexuality, gender, ability, and class.  I also believe it is the relationship that we co-create together that will empower you to build a stronger connection to your intuition and to the innate wisdom that exists within. Let's explore your dreams, hopes, fears, and everything in between.

I want to support you in gaining a clearer understanding of yourself, disrupting mental and behavioral patterns that no longer serve you, and in finding ways to integrate all the parts of who you are. We can do this through cultivating joy, finding gratitude, and feeling deeply into the most difficult emotions.

 

In a nutshell, I use psychodynamic theory (how the past impacts the present), mindfulness, meditation, Brainspotting, and the relationship we cultivate together to facilitate healing.

I work with all those who seek healing, and work especially well with those who identify as Asian American, multi-racial, BIPOC, queer, and as adult children of immigrants and refugees.

 

Issues I often work with are anxiety, self-esteem, imposter syndrome, burn out, managing relationships with narcissistic parents, reconnecting to one's body and self, intergenerational trauma, and family dynamics. I also work with first time parents who are trying heal the child parts of who they are, while being present for the new child in their life.

Relevant Trainings & Experience

  • Brainspotting Phases 1,2, 4 - BIPOC training with John Edwards LCSW

  • Brainspotting Masterclass January 2022 with Founder David Grand

  • Asian American Pacific Islander Women LEAD Conference

  • Asian & Pacific Islander Mental Health Empowerment Conference

  • Somatic Experiencing Workshop with Peter Levine

  • Certified 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training with Karina Ayn Mirsky

  • Yoga Mindset Training with Karina Ayn Mirsky

  • Conscious Roots Counseling Center - Therapy for the People

  • Pierce Street Integral Counseling Center 

  • Seeds of Awareness Holistic Counseling Center

  • Fiddleheads Therapeutic Group for Children

  • California Institute of Integral Studies - Teaching Assistant - Couples' Counseling

 

Education

  • California Institute of Integral Studies - MA in Counseling Psychology

  • The University of Texas at Austin - BBA in Marketing

About Me

Get in Touch

Available for virtual sessions with adult individuals in all of California.

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