THE WOUND IS WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS

And darkness cannot outshine the light

There is peace even in the storm

I’m Sandra Lax. Certified sex addiction therapist, public speaker, Daring Way™ facilitator, and specialist in healing relational and betrayal trauma.

My career started by working at various rehab clinics throughout North America, including The Meadows and Kenneth M. Adam's and Associates, world-renowned facilities that continue to set the gold standard for mental healthcare. This brought me to open the doors to Sandra Lax Counseling in Toronto, Canada, a private practice in 2012. Most recently in 2021, a pull led me to extend services to hosting retreats in the healing surrounds of Costa Rica for individuals and couples.

I'm passionate about opening dialogues on worthiness, human connection, intimate relationships, holistic healing, and self-care. It's joyous to teach people how to nourish their relationship with themselves so that they can show up, be seen, and live their most bold, brave, and love-filled lives.

It's my sincere hope that you begin to choose yourself, acknowledge your own value, and lead yourself forward through life with meaning, vigor, and confidence.

I am here to help you on that journey.

Warmly,

Sandra

I’M SANDRA

We repeat what we don’t repair

My four modalities of care:

  • Post Induction Therapy (PIT) was developed over 30 years by Pia Mellody of The Meadows Treatment Center, Wickenburg, AZ

    This treatment model is based on the 5 core symptoms which cause a developmental arrest in an individual’s life and relationships.

    • Difficulty Experiencing Appropriate Levels of Self Esteem

    • Difficulty setting and maintaining functional interpersonal boundaries

    • Difficulty owning their own reality

    • Difficulty acknowledging and meeting their own needs and wants

    • Difficulty expressing and experiencing their own reality moderately

    Helping clients to understand the reality of their early developmental experiences during their formative years, and how these experiences impact their lives and overall psychosocial functioning today, is an essential part of treatment. This model of therapy supports the development of a "functional adult" rather than an adult who has arrested development and unfulfilling relationships.

  • Designed by Dr. Patrick Carnes, the founder of the field of sexual addiction therapy and recovery, CSAT training focuses on correctly evaluating and treating sexual addiction.

    A CSAT trained therapist can guide couples through structured disclosures as well as processing the grief and loss caused by the addiction, rebuilding trust, healing from betrayal trauma, and reestablishing emotional intimacy. CSATs also facilitate couples’ renewal and enrichment after healing. Affair recovery is possible.

    Partners of those who have recovered from sexual addiction would never choose the darkness of betrayal trauma, but they can rejoice in the outcomes of recovery therapy, including deepened emotional intimacy, healthy boundaries, and enriched relationships.

  • CMAT works in conjunction to support those suffering from multiple addictions, learn the tools of how to overcome compulsive behavior related to chemical and alcohol dependency, financial disorders, and compulsive or restrictive relationships with food.

    Reports show that 29 percent of those considered mentally ill and about 50 percent of those who have a severe mental disorder also experience substance abuse. On the flip side, 53 percent of people who abuse drugs and 37 percent of people who abuse alcohol have one or more serious mental illness.

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  • The Daring Way™ is an empirically based training and certification program for helping professionals offer the best care for clients in overcoming adversity and leading fulfilling lives. Based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown, the work focuses on courage-building, shame resilience, and uncovering the power of vulnerability. The methodology is designed for work with individuals, couples, families, and groups.

PEOPLE I’VE TRAINED WITH

  • Pia Mellody

    Pia’s work in codependence, boundaries, and the effects of childhood trauma on emotional development has profoundly influenced the treatment of addictions and issues around forming and maintaining relationships.

  • Patrick Carnes

    Patrick is the founding father of Sexual Addiction Therapy. He is the founder of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and his extensive background has led him to develop multiple cutting-edge recovery programs.

  • Stefanie Carnes

    Stefanie is the President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, and a senior fellow for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare. Dr. Carnes is the clinical architect for Willow House: Relationship Healing for Women struggling with sex, love, and intimacy disorders.

  • Brene Brown

    World-renowned professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host, who’s spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy.

Everyone is necessarily the hero

of his own life story

YOUR FIRST STEP IS TO CONNECT…

Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look."

- Marcus Aurelius