Meet Dr. Sand
Psychotherapist for Adults • Somatic Practitioner • IFS Trainer • Consultant
Hi! I’m Sand. My pronouns are they/them.
I'm a somatic psychotherapist and trauma specialist with over 20 years of experience supporting people—especially marginalized adults (queer, trans, POC, etc.)—in going deep, healing complex wounds, and coming into fuller relationship with themselves.
My approach is grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Somatic Experiencing (SE), and guided by a deep commitment to body liberation, self-trust, and liberatory healing. I’m a Certified IFS Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), Certified EMDR Therapist, and Certified Body TrustⓇ Provider.
I believe therapy should meet you where you are, without pathologizing or trying to fix you. It should create space for the full complexity of who you are—and help you access the parts of you that already carry wisdom, strength, and possibility.
If you're someone who has done therapy before, has insight into your patterns, and is ready to go further, you're in the right place.
I believe in the inherent potential of all people to heal from systems and ingrained beliefs that block connection and growth.
A bit more about me...
My work as a therapist is informed not only by my professional training, but also by my own lived experience as a Chinese American, nonbinary person and as someone who has spent a lifetime navigating systems not built for us. I’ve always been drawn to helping people who tend to be excluded by mainstream, white, Western clinical models—and I bring that orientation into every therapeutic relationship.
I naturally gravitate toward perspectives that are empowering and strengths-based, rather than diagnostic or deficit-focused. I actively seek to decolonize mental health by challenging norms that treat people as problems to be solved rather than whole beings in need of support and connection.
Other parts of my work
While therapy is at the heart of what I do, I also spend much of my time as an educator and trainer, offering guidance to other clinicians and organizations committed to healing justice.
I’m a Lead Instructor in Queer and Trans IFS trainings and an Assistant Trainer with the IFS Institute, helping clinicians learn how to offer care that’s both technically skillful and deeply affirming.
As an equity consultant, I bring an intersectional, trauma-informed lens to help organizations move toward inclusion in more than name—facilitating growth that’s based in accountability, not shame.
Publications & Media
I’m co-author of:
A Clinician’s Guide to Gender Affirming Care (New Harbinger, 2018)
APA Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients (2015)
You can also find me in interviews with NPR Life Kit, The New York Times, and Food Psych.
See all publications →
When I’m Not Working …
… I am a dancer, punoff competitor, and smoosh-faced dog enthusiast. Most everyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge dog person. I believe that dogs have a lot to teach humans about being in the moment, resting, and enjoying food! Here’s a picture of me with my pug Zelda and my Brussels griffon BonBon.
