About
Why Do I Dedicate My Professional Life To Supporting Others?
Like many young people during their teens, I faced many overwhelming thoughts and emotions. As a result, I sought out therapy to better understand myself, and to heal both my known and unknown wounds.
Early in counseling, I discovered a sense of safety and support that allowed me to open up about childhood experiences that felt distressing and confusing. It took a lot of unpacking, but I learned about abuse and trauma, what it was, and how it affected me—and eventually, I came to terms with it. That healing process made me realize just how important it is to have a safe, objective, non-judgmental person in your corner.
My appreciation for the effectiveness of those early years of therapy organically evolved into a goal of becoming a psychotherapist so that I could bring the work forward to support others in need.
My Path Toward Becoming A Psychotherapist Wasn’t Exactly Straightforward
Having grown up in a retail family business, sticking to an entrepreneurial path felt like the more practical decision, so when I went to University, pursuing a psychology degree was put on the back burner. After graduating from NYU with degrees in Marketing and Management, my 20’s were spent balancing a marriage, motherhood, and entrepreneurship.
By my mid 30’s, I was more than ready for a relationship change, so I divorced and began raising my two young sons as a single mom. In the meantime, I worked in the corporate world in sales and marketing, and created a business in corporate and personal image consulting.
Finally, in my 40’s, my sons were fairly grown and I found myself in the right place to pursue my goal of becoming a licensed therapist. Getting back to NYU for grad school was a thrilling and challenging experience that led me to exactly where I wanted to be—here, supporting and guiding my clients.
What Kind Of Services Do I Specialize In?
I offer a range of unique, online and in-person counseling services, including Couples Counseling, Therapy for Women, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. However, what I’m truly passionate about providing is Sex Therapy.
Over the years, I have spoken with thousands of women, both young and old about their “sexual debuts” and early intimate experiences. Tragically, I have heard women describe these early sexual events as painful, traumatic, confusing, humiliating, and without any attention placed on their own pleasure.
As a collective, many of these women struggle with distorted images of themselves—often seeing themselves as “not normal” or even sexually damaged. They end up carrying a lot of frustration, dissatisfaction, and a shared sense of low genital or sexual self-esteem.
As I found myself searching for my niche in psychotherapy, it felt relevant and vitally important for me to focus on empowering my clients around their sexuality and to deconstruct the narrative that there is something wrong with them. Sex therapy is about facilitating sexual health, conquering sexual shame, and developing ease in communicating preferences, needs, and desires.
How Do I Approach Therapy With My Clients?
Working through a psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, and somatic lens enables me to treat the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. I encourage clients to pay attention to what’s happening in their physical bodies and to pay attention to the places within themselves that feel stuck. Confusion and resentments are replaced with a sense of clarity and purpose.
Through exploration, we lay out the framework and cornerstones of one’s ambitions, fears, beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and pain points. In therapy, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the work. Everyone brings their own unique personal dynamic and history into the room.
Through the years of my personal transformation as an individual, my formal education, and my ongoing training as a sex therapist and psychotherapist, I have acquired a range of knowledge and experience that I bring to the work.
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy, sex therapy, body-based psychotherapy
- Life coaching, Landmark Education, Non-Violent Communication
- Energy healing, sound healing, Reiki
- Yoga, meditation, medicine journeys, breathwork
- Five Rhythms Dance, Indigenous Healing Ceremonies
All of these tools help me create a roadmap to treatment that is unique to each person. And despite being forever grateful for my instructors on my healing journey, my greatest teachers have been my clients themselves.
Who Am I Outside Of Therapy?
I have a shih tzu mix who is the perfect therapy dog. Adorable, friendly, and cuddly, he brings a huge amount of love into the therapy room. With his different colored eyes, I named him Bowie, after one of my favorite musicians.
My greatest accomplishments are my two amazing sons, who have grown into men that I am super proud of. They’re smart, successful, and emotionally intelligent. And they’re not embarrassed by their mom who went to the same university, on the same campus, sometimes at the same time as them.
Then there are the days I get to spend with my beautiful daughter-in-law and granddaughters—where there’s no place in the world I’d rather be.
Sandi Kaufman, LCSW, CST, is a licensed clinical social worker, supervisor, and psychotherapist providing online, telehealth, and in-person counseling services for the greater NYC area. She holds a Master of Social Work from New York University, Silver School of Social Work. Sandi is also a certified sex therapist, couples counselor, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapist with extensive experience, training, and certifications: American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) certified sex therapist; Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy (ICP) certified sex therapist, sex therapy supervisor; Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy training, The Ketamine Training Center; William Alanson White Institute, Intensive Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program certification; Nonviolent Communication training; Landmark Education graduate, and 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training Certification, Yoga Alliance.