Sartaj Sandhu, RCC

My path to this work

Real change, not just more talking.

Many people who come to see me have been in counselling before. They tell me, "All I did was talk about my problems. Nothing actually changed." Others say, "I know exactly why I do this, but I still keep doing it." Both are telling us something important.

Much of what drives us doesn't live in the thinking brain. It lives in the nervous system, in emotional memory, and in beliefs we formed long before we had words for them. That's why I work with EMDR and Emotionally Focused Therapy: they help you experience things differently, not just understand them.

My own path here wasn't a straight line. I worked in healthcare as a dentist, then in community services and in labour advocacy as a union rep. In every role I kept coming back to the same question: what actually helps people move through hard things and reconnect with themselves and the people they love?

That's what praxis means to me: putting understanding into practice. The standard I hold myself to is strong back, open heart: steady enough to carry whatever you bring, and open enough that you never feel judged.

When I'm not in session, I'm at the gym, out on a trail, or in the middle of a board game.