Sandy Elder, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Psychotherapy in a form of talk therapy to address emotional, behavior and cognitive challenges and distortions. Psychotherapy helps by providing a safe space to discuss and understand one's thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors. This is helpful in allowing individuals to identify patterns that might be causing distress and or rumination. Psychotherapy gives individuals the opportunity to practice and learn healthier coping mechanisms to manage challenges in life, often through techniques like cognitive restructuring, exposure therapy, or interpersonal skills development, ultimately improving overall mental well-being and quality of life. There are various different modalities in practicing psychotherapy that can help in building and restructuring neural pathways within our brains. It takes our brains several months to one year to rewire itself; in practicing psychotherapy we can do this through what is called "Talk Therapy" and skills-based therapies.

I truly enjoy people, people living the human experience and getting to hear their stories and how I can best help and support. I enjoy working with individuals and providing help and support as we move through the transitions of life. In life we may face many ups and downs, trials and tribulations, what I love about being a psychotherapist is being able to help individuals navigate these challenges and to help them in to becoming more aware of their own internal stimuli; as we work towards being more mindful and present in life, which can help in lowering stress levels, improve emotional regulation, strengthen relationships, and aid in creating positive changes in brain structure and functioning.

Hi my name is Sandy Elder. I am a licensed clinical therapist practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. I specialize in working with teenagers and adults who are struggling with mood disorders. Including; but not limited to Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and Bipolar Disorders. Mood disorders include a category of mental health disorders that can cause specific and persistence challenges in an individual's emotional state including extreme sadness (depression) or excessive happiness (mania), high anxiety, panic, irritability and agitation. When an individual is struggling with symptoms caused by a mood disorder; they may find symptoms having a negative impact in their functioning which can impair their ability to engage in their regular daily routines; including relationships, work, andor social activities. This often leads to significant distress and impairment. In practice; I utilize a patient centered approach through gaining an understanding of what brought patients to therapy in the first place. I utilize a biopsychosocial model of treatment which allows for more of a clinical approach in figuring out what is going on biologically, psychologically, and socially in an individuals life. This practice will give us the opportunity to gain more of an understanding of the complexities involved in the interplay of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that an individual is experiencing. I work in collaboration with patients using a meaningful and ongoing process in creating patient centered goals that are specific, measurable, and attainable. When individuals are struggling with mood disorders they often find themselves isolating, stuck in unhelpful thought patterns, disassociating, having a negative self-assessment and negative outlook on life. My approach in therapy is to work with patients using a cognitive behavioral therapy lens; in gaining an awareness of our thinking and feeling connections, thought process, and our core beliefs. Once we are able to understand more about this interplay between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, we can then begin to discuss how I can best support you on your mindful healing journey.