Middle Way Health Welcomes Sandra Warne, LMFT

“There is a way to guide people in expressing all that they are.”

My first impression of Sandra Warne is that she’s curious and eager to connect. Come interview time I find that she’s sensitive, communicative, still very curious… and maybe not used to being the one in the spotlight. Once I satisfy (at least some of) her curiosity, she seems quite willing to let me into her world.

Sandra tells me she has been fascinated with people since childhood. “I found my friends interesting and different, and was always interested in finding out why.” (Ah, yes, the curiosity). In school she studied sociology , anthropology and fine arts – trying to figure out the dynamics of groups, which then led her to psychology – to better understand the individual. From there it became about tying them together – from the individual to his/her connection with the world. (Connection, check).

“The psychology of individuals is my passion; what carries them in different directions,” Sandra adds. So being a therapist seems a natural calling for Sandra… but that doesn’t mean it was always easy. Sandra opens up about some of her fundamental experiences growing up.

“After high school I left the small community I grew up in (Tujunga in Southern California) and moved to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. But the drastic change was a shock to my system and the transient lifestyle was unsettling.” While “not an easy fit,” Sandra admits, she found the overall experience “eye opening and extremely valuable”. “It prompted me to figure out where I fit, what my values were, and who I was. Eventually I learned to reorganize two different realities – the progressive beliefs of that time and place integrated with the predictability and order I needed to feel safe.”

But get a grip on one challenge, and there’s always going to be another opportunity to grow (even if at first kicking and screaming) around the corner. Sandra’s brother – “a brilliant painter”, as she calls him – died young. In part, Sandra believes, from her father not supporting art as a career and pressuring him into the family business, without regard for his inclination to do so. This tragedy, however, helped Sandra shed light on family system beliefs and early programming that can limit us. “It’s okay to be your own person; authentic and different from your family and their long held beliefs. Having a life purpose is central to flourishing and happiness,” Sandra says.

An artist herself, she also enjoys inspiring the creative process in others. “I like to help people explore the creativity inside them to bring forth more happiness. It’s very important to me that people are on their path of authenticity that allows them to be in harmony with what they love. There is a way to guide people in expressing all that they are. And healing can occur at the same time.”

“I meet people where they are.” Sandra elaborates. “Thinking too much about the future can cause people to become anxious; Too much residing in the past can foster rumination, even depression. Living in the present, aware of each moment, leads to a more joyful life.” Much of this she’s learned from studying Buddhism.

“My mom introduced us as children to lots of different religions, so we could make up our own minds, but my belief in God was not supported by what I saw as religious dogma that did not support my intuitive spiritual needs. It was Buddhism that ultimately felt congruent with my values and beliefs.”

This led Sandra to France to work with Zen Buddhist David Braizer, before continuing a 2-year correspondence training with David and the Amida Trust Distant Learning Foundation. “This supports my interest in the individual, and their ongoing affiliation with groups and beliefs that speak to who they are and how they flourish.” Now she aims to help “liberate the therapeutic and personal path with Buddhism’s concepts of openness and generosity.”

Bottom line, she says, “I think our lives are about finding those people and experiences that maximize personal growth.”

And when we find them, feel free to be curious and eager to connect.