Hi, I’m Sandy Stillo

But I did not start here…

The mental health profession is a second (maybe third?) career for me. Even though I knew from a very young age (about 10 years old) that I wanted to be a Psychologist (there were not mental health counselors back then), I never thought I was smart enough to go to college. I started out in the corporate world, but with no degree behind me that “career” was short-lived. At the encouragement of a friend who believed I was smarter than I gave myself credit for, I finally decided to get my bachelor’s degree in education. Her exact words were, “If I can do it, you can do it!” And she was right. I became a public school teacher and taught for 9 years.

In the classroom, I quickly realized I was doing more than teaching; I was actually spending a lot of time providing social and emotional support for kids and their parents. The same treasured friend suggested I would be a good school counselor, so I went back to school for my master’s degree. As it turned out, school counseling did not allow me to help students and their families the way I thought it would. I began to see how limited I was and became frustrated with those limitations. After 4 years as a school counselor, I decided to open my first private practice focusing exclusively on children — including children in our foster care system.

Working closely with children and their parents, I learned how adults’ behavior, shaped by their own childhoods, affects the next generation. I also saw first hand the effects of different types of trauma and how it is passed on from one generation to the next. I also recognized that even situations that are not necessarily “traumatic” can set people up for a life of chaos and unhappiness. And it hit me that helping adults address their pasts is the upstream way to help everyone, kids included. 

So, I shifted my practice to working with adults whose present-day struggles stem from their childhood experiences (it’s more of us than you think!).  Even the best parent is not perfect, and even the best life includes moments of pain and tragedy. Addressing the confusion and pain of the past clears the way for joy, happiness, and overall greater life satisfaction from here forward.

I am not only a therapist; I am also a consumer of therapy. There is no way I would be where I am today had I not done the work to heal myself, and I continue to work at it. Healing is not a one-and-done experience. It takes time to un-learn the untruths we have come to believe about ourselves and to develop healthier ways of being. Is therapy worth it? Well, I certainly think so, but more than that, I think YOU are worth it. Healthier relationships, a more satisfying career, higher self-esteem and confidence, and an overall Better Life experience is what you deserve. If I can do it, you can do it!