Meet Allison Sand,
MA, LCSW
I am very collaborative in my approach to clients and their concerns as well as their goals. I take a strengths-based and compassion-focused approach to therapy and also offer gentle challenges and direct feedback as needed for the work.
I have 21 years of experience working in clinical settings including private practice, residential care, and medical settings. I like to work with each individual client to tailor my therapeutic approach and interventions to their specific needs. I draw on evidence-based therapies including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I am embodied in my approach to therapy and also have training in Somatic therapy as well as EMDR.
Training and Certifications
I am a certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP-II), certified in DBT (C-DBT), and a certified EMDR clinician. (EMDR-C) I am IFS informed and continue to love the integration of parts work in my practice.
Education
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M.A. in Social Work: University of Maryland, Baltimore
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B.A. in Psychology: Messiah College
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Professional Background
I have over two decades of experience providing individual therapy, group and family therapy, crisis intervention, and mental health care as part of an integrative team. Prior to starting my private practice, Integrity Mental Health and Consulting, I worked in specialty fields including eating disorders, and palliative care.
I received my education at University of Maryland, Baltimore and completed an internship during my graduate studies at Kennedy Krieger Institute as part of John’s Hopkins Hospital specializing in trauma and family work.
After graduate school, I joined my first private practice group and had experience working with many young women dealing with anxiety and eating disorders. My interest in eating disorders brought me to Pasadena California where I studied under a mentor and took classes at Fuller seminary to study the integration of spirituality and psychology. I worked with fellow clinicians in California to begin the residential eating disorder center, Reasons Residential as part of the BHC Alhambra Hospital. At Reasons, I worked as a primary therapist and manager and continued to work with both women and men in the spaces of anxiety, depression, identity, body image, shame, and search for existential meaning. I supervised fellow clinicians and developed a love for group and family work.
In 2012, I came to Denver and decided to step out of my work in eating disorders and work alongside doctors in the medical system. I served as part of a palliative care team and provided individual therapy and crisis support for those dealing with chronic and complicated illness. My years working with trauma and eating disorders provided me with a familiarity with the medical system, and seeing each person from a mind, body, and soul perspective. I appreciate the medical knowledge I gained in these years and is a part of the embodied perspective I have in treating my clients today. During my time working in medical system, including throughout COVID-19, I began to develop a deep interest in grief and loss and the value and meaning people find in their lives in these spaces. I studied complicated grief and enjoy opportunities to work with grief and loss as well as chronic illness in my private practice today.
In 2024, I decided to open my own practice, Integrity Mental Health and Consulting. It felt like it was time for me to go back into private practice and serve clients in the clinical areas for which I had become highly specialized. My own struggles and paths to growth and healing help me relate so deeply with clients. I have compassion for how difficult life can sometimes be and how heavy loss and unexpected change can seem. At the same time, the frenetic anxiety that exists in our culture can leave many of us with the burden of constant self-doubt, ruminating thoughts, and a disconnection from our true selves. Taking time to feel our feelings, take care of our nervous systems, grieve our losses, and create intentional goals for our lives can make all the difference to our overall well being.
Outside of work, I am a busy mom of two and a city-dweller. I have a toy poodle Millie, who is currently being trained to be a therapy dog and keeps us all very busy. Other loves of mine are travel and time in the beautiful Colorado mountains. When I am not with my family, I enjoy reading and podcasts, tending to my yard, and exploring Denver’s food scene with good friends.