Nahual Therapy
Welcome to Nahual Therapy
At Nahual Therapy, we embrace the journey of self-discovery and healing within a multicultural and multilingual framework. Our private practice stands as a sanctuary for individuals, couples, and families navigating the complexities of life's stressors, relational dynamics, and the nuanced challenges of cultural and identity issues. With a cooperative approach grounded in empathy and understanding, we dedicate ourselves to supporting you through transformative times and guiding you towards a path of growth and self-awareness.
The Essence of Nahual
In the rich tapestry of Mesoamerican culture, a Nahual represents a spirit or an animal guide, believed to reside within each individual, offering wisdom, protection, and a profound connection to the natural world. This concept underscores the belief in the deep and intrinsic link between our inner selves and the universe at large. At Nahual Therapy, we draw inspiration from this ancient wisdom, emphasizing the transformative power of understanding and aligning with one’s inner Nahual. It’s a journey of exploring the depths of one’s identity and cultural heritage, fostering a sense of empowerment and connectedness. A person’s nahual is believed to reveal details about who you are, giving you insight on how to relate to and grow in community with others effectively. When studied with an open mind, one’s nahual can also lead to increased self-awareness.
Sandra Gaspar, LMFT
Sandra is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. A first and second-generation Mexican American was born in Los Angeles and raised in Mexico. She claims both Mexico and California as her homes. Sandra uses psychoanalytic sensibilities, Liberation Psychology, trauma and social lens, and collective healing frameworks in her community mental health work with immigrants, Black, Indigenous communities and people of the Global Majority, who have been historically and systematically marginalized and minoritized. Sandra has been a practicing bilingual clinician and clinical supervisor for 16 years in community mental health clinics. In addition to serving as TPI’s Associate Director, she serves as a bilingual clinical supervisor at Westcoast Children’s Clinic and is an adjunct professor at San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis in the program Coalition for Clinical Social Work. Sandra is a bilingual consultant at different mental health agencies and is a Community Consultant at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California.
Sandra es terapeuta matrimonial y familiar con licenciatura en California. Es Mexico-Americano de primera y segunda generación, nació en Los Ángeles y creció en México. Ella reclama a México y California sus hogares. Sandra utiliza sensibilidades psicoanalíticas, Psicología de la Liberación, lentes sociales y de trauma, y marcos de curación colectiva en sus trabajo comunitario de salud mental y privado con inmigrantes, comunidades Afroamericanas, Indígenas y personas de la Mayoría Global, que han sido histórica y sistemáticamente marginadas y minorizadas. Sandra ha sido terapeuta bilingüe y supervisora clínica durante más de 16 años en clínicas comunitarias de salud mental. Además de desempeñarse como directora asociada en The Psychotherapy Institute (TPI), se desempeña como supervisora clínica bilingüe en Westcoast Children's Clinic y es profesora adjunta en el Centro de Psicoanálisis de San Francisco en el programa Coalition for Clinical Social Work. Sandra es consultora bilingüe en diferentes agencias de salud mental y es Consultora Comunitaria en el Instituto Psicoanalítico del Norte de California.
My Approach to Therapy
I am an experienced multicultural marriage and family therapist, dedicated to supporting individuals, couples, and families through the complexities and challenges of life. My journey in the field of therapy is rooted in a deep understanding of complex family dynamics and the profound impact of trauma on individuals and relationships.I view therapy as a collaborative journey, where we explore and navigate the intricacies of your experiences together.
My approach is systemic, focusing on the relationships and networks that shape our lives. Having worked in diverse settings such as the child welfare system, school-based services, and residential treatment centers, I bring a broad perspective to my practice, along with a commitment to multicultural understanding and sensitivity.
My work is dedicated to individuals and families seeking to integrate and grow from their traumatic experiences, enhance their relationships, and develop adaptive strategies for the challenges of modern life. I specialize in:
Trauma Integration and Growth: Helping you acknowledge, integrate, and move forward from traumatic experiences to build resilience and a deeper sense of self.
Sandplay Therapy: A creative, non-verbal method that facilitates the expression of thoughts and feelings, unlocking the door to the unconscious mind.
Depth Therapy: Encouraging introspection and exploration of the unconscious to understand and address the root causes of emotional and behavioral issues.
Family Systems Therapy: Analyzing and improving family dynamics and relationships to foster a healthier, more supportive environment.
Mindfulness: Incorporating practices to enhance present-moment awareness, reduce stress, and promote emotional balance.
Skills-Based Approaches: Providing practical tools and strategies to manage daily challenges, improve well-being, and achieve personal growth.
Individual Therapy
Family Therapy
Couples Therapy
Training
Clinical development and support for bilingual/ multicultural providers
Culturally informed service provision
Trauma-informed principles in clinical work
Supervision & Consultation
As a bilingual and bicultural clinical supervisors and consultants, we take the responsibility of supervising and developing bilingual and/or bicultural therapists either at the beginning of their careers or seasoned therapists. It is our responsibility to help supervisees/consultees make sense of the immense projections, the parallel processes, the complicated unconscious identifications, and the transference/countertransference of shame, inadequacy, rage, and despair that they can experience in their private practices or in public agencies. We would like to help supervisees to consciously differentiate themselves from their clients in order to better navigate their own and clients' inner worlds and to better understand the clients they serve.
Being bilingual and bicultural has taught us this; how to hold multiple tensions of the opposite, to be in between, to not know, to navigate difficult and multiple intersectionalities at once, and to recognize the feelings of being “othered.” In addition of course, we learned to be attuned to the workings of white privilege and sensitive to the vibrations of the power dynamics. All this we bring to the table in supervision; and offer a space where we can think, challenge each other, learn, grow, and be curious with each other. We co-create this radical space where through our vulnerability with each other we become empowered to claim our lineages.
For fees and other details, please contact us
We also accept the following insurances: Optum, Aetna, United Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross, Oscar Health, Oxford, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, and Spring Health Employee Assistance Program.
