Dr S. Sarin

I am a licensed clinical psychologist, somatic practitioner, educator, yoga & mindful movement teacher …
and a perpetual student of life.

I completed my formal education in clinical psychology and gender studies at the universities of McGill (BSc., Ph.D) and Yale (M.A., M.Sc.), and my informal education through traveling, spiritual practice, listening to nature, and navigating complex relationships and situations.

I became interested in mental health struggles and social injustices at a very young age, but only began my formal training in 1998. I spent approximately 15 years in the academic world, researching and publishing articles and book chapters in the areas of trauma, sexual dysfunction, mood disorders, and eating disorders. I have shared my work and ideas with communities, and at numerous international conferences, and in media interviews. I was appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University in 2014, and have taught and supervised graduate students and other therapists in numerous hospitals and universities across Canada.

I left my academic position in 2016 to travel and found myself working amongst impoverished communities, including Tibetan refugees, Indian child brides and Nepalese sexual trafficking survivors. Enlightened by these experiences, my focus shifted. I returned to Canada to learn more about helping survivors heal and grow from traumatic experiences, especially through somatic work. I started teaching and supervising students in psychotherapy, and while no longer in academia, remain enamored with the scientific study of the impact of hardship on relationships between mind-body-spirit. In my spare time, I continue to write, educate, and share my ideas with various communities in the public and private sectors.

Over the years, my psychotherapy practice has evolved greatly, just as I have. While I initially approached therapy from a western cultural lens (e.g., thought focused methods), I have continued to diversify to include more eastern, traditional, and spiritual healing practices (e.g., body based methods - yoga, dance, experiential somatic methods). My early training was in empirically-supported psychotherapy methods (CBT/ CPT, DBT, ACT, psychodynamic, systems, existential), but since then, I have completed certified trainings in hatha and therapeutic yoga, trauma informed yoga, breath regulation techniques (pranayama), mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR). Most recently, I became certified in somatic experiencing (SEP), somatic attachment therapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, internal family systems (IFS), and expressive arts therapies (5 rhythms, authentic movement, ecstatic dance, sound work, and reiki). Each of these methods have been as much a part of my own personal healing journey as they are now part of my professional approach to treatment.

As a BIPOC woman and first generation Canadian, I remain passionate about treating difficulties relating to early developmental/ attachment traumas (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional abuse/ neglect) and collective traumas (racism, gender inequality, colonialism, immigration, consumerism/ human commodification, stigmatization/ ostracization of marginalized groups - such as trauma survivors themselves!). I apply a scientific mindset to understanding how these experiences contribute to stuckness or illness in the body, and to harmful mental patterns. My aim is to help people face and overcome these challenges, complete what is unfinished in the past, and move forward in an embodied way, with a stronger connection to one’s own truth, inner power, and integrity.

I bring all of this to my work with my clients in a holistic and integrated framework.