Sandra Sampaio

Starting therapy can feel like a big step, especially when culture, family expectations, past experiences, or stigma make it hard to talk about what you are going through. I offer a warm and supportive space where you can feel heard, better understand yourself, and work toward the life and relationships you want. My practice focuses on four main areas: culture and immigration, sex therapy, substance use and codependency and parenting. I use a trauma-informed and systems approach, which means I look at the whole person. Family, culture, immigration, relationships, work, community, and the systems we live in can all shape how we cope, connect, and see ourselves. I support clients working through trauma and generational patterns, cultural identity and immigration experiences, unhealthy substance use, recovery, codependency, grief, life changes, boundaries, and relationship concerns. I also facilitate grief and stroke support groups, giving me experience supporting people and families through loss, health-related changes, caregiving, and major shifts in identity and daily life. As an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, I work with individuals and people in diverse relationship structures around sexual desire, differences in desire, intimacy, communication, sexual concerns, sexual shame, and sexual and gender identity. I welcome LGBTQIA+ clients and affirm a range of relationship structures, including consensual non-monogamy (CNM/ENM), polyamory, and other relationship configurations. My approach is open, collaborative, sex-positive, culturally responsive, and grounded in respect for each person’s identities, values, relationships, and lived experiences, without judgment or assumptions about what sexuality or relationships should look like. I also use Positive Discipline parenting techniques to help parents strengthen their relationships with their children, set healthy boundaries, and understand how their own upbringing and family patterns may influence the way they parent. Therapy isn’t about “fixing” you, it’s about understanding your story, reclaiming your power, and finding moments of peace and authenticity in the process. Let’s do that work together. I am licensed in California.