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Maria-Alejandra De Araujo Sanchez, LCSW

Licence #: L10378 - NPI #: 1902345457

Hi, I'm Alex! (she/her)

Welcome to my holistic therapy practice!

You might look like you’re holding it all together — thoughtful, competent, maybe even thriving from the outside. But inside, you feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or stuck in patterns that no longer serve you. Maybe you’re carrying invisible grief, wrestling with self-doubt, or quietly asking yourself: Who am I, really? Whether you’re navigating identity, belonging, adoption, migration, or the echoes of early trauma, you don’t have to do it alone.

I believe that real well-being comes from feeling deeply connected to yourself, your body, your emotions, your story, and ultimately to others. When those parts of you are in dialogue rather than conflict, something begins to settle. My work is about supporting that inner alignment, gently and collaboratively, at a pace that honors your nervous system and your history. This isn’t about fixing what’s broken, it’s about making space for what’s been buried, protected, or forgotten, so you can move through life with more clarity, ease, and self-trust.

Within you lies the power to heal from the past.

Specialties

I work with:

I assist with:

I believe that individuals are resilient, and in their hearts possess the strength and creativity they need to heal and achieve their full potential.

The steps of working together

I use a combination of carefully selected complementary techniques:

EMDR

Parts Work Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Narrative Therapy

Mindfulness Therapy

Body-Centered Therapy

My style is warm, direct, and authentic.

A little more about me

My journey has spanned continents and careers, rooted in the identities of an adoptee, a therapist, a social worker, a feminist, and a scientist. Living in many in-between spaces—across cultures, languages, and evolving professional paths—I’ve come to understand a profound truth: true fulfillment isn’t about “having it all together,” but about cultivating an honest relationship with every part of ourselves—our old wounds, our beautiful contradictions, and our entire story.

That understanding is what led me, in 2010, to step away from a successful career in computer science. It was a call to a deeper purpose: to support others in navigating the intricate landscapes of their inner worlds. For me, therapy isn’t merely a profession. It’s a sacred practice of honoring our shared humanity, recognizing our innate capacity to heal, and witnessing the transformative power of being truly seen.

I bring into my practice a combination of specific trainings and life experiences:

Training

Master’s in Clinical Social Work ( from Portland State University).

EMDR Training (from EMDR Training Center, EMDRIA certified).

Clinical and Normative Issues within Adult Adoptee Populations (from Rutger School of Social work).

Cross-Cultural Care in Mental Health and Depression (from Amedco & Quality interactions).

National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training (from C.A.S.E institute).

Providing Effective Therapy for Adult ADHD (from Janet Niederman, Ph.D.).

Candid conversations about the experience of Black Interracial Adoptees (from C.A.S.E Institute).

Issues in Domestic Violence: Prevention of Domestic Violence (from CE4Less).

Experience

Work in hospital settings in secured units with patients experiencing acute mental health crisis.

Academic research in neuroscience and clinical psychology.

My personal perspective as an adoptee, an international transplant, and a feminist.

Publications and other contributions

De Araujo Sanchez, M. A., & Zeithamova, D. (2023). Generalization and false memory in acquired equivalence. Cognition, 234, 105385.

Bowman, C. R., de Araujo Sanchez, M. A., Hou, W., Rubin, S., & Zeithamova, D. (2021). Generalization and False Memory in an Acquired Equivalence Paradigm: The Influence of Physical Resemblance Across Related Episodes. Frontiers in psychology, 12.

De Araujo Sanchez, M. A., & Zeithamova, D. (2020). Generalization and source memory in acquired equivalence.

Zeithamova, D., de Araujo Sanchez, M. A., & Adke, A. (2017). Trial timing and pattern-information analyses of fMRI data. NeuroImage, 153, 221-231.

Blanc-Goldhammer, D., Sanchez, M. A. D. A., & Dassonville, P. (2016). Both Perception and Action Are Biased by Local Motion When Reporting the Location of a Moving Target. Journal of Vision, 16(12),981-981.

De Araujo Sanchez, M., Aadke, A., & Zeithamova, D. (2016). Trial timing in fMRI designs for pattern information analyses. Poster presented at Neuroscience 2016, San Diego.

Zeithamova D., Resnick A., De Araujo Sanchez M., & Bowman C. (2016). No trade-off between memory specificity and memory generalization. Presented at the 25th International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, Budapest, Hungary.

Laurent K., Laurent S., Nelson B., Wright D., & De Araujo Sanchez M. (2015) Dispositional Mindfulness Moderates the Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Induction on Physiological Stress Responses. Mindfulness, 1-9.

Bernstein R., Laurent H., De Araujo Sanchez M., Measelle J., & Ablow J. (2014, July). Seeing red or feeling blue? Predicting infant-mother attachment disorganization 18 months postpartum from mothers’ prenatal interpretations of infant facial expressions. Presented at the XIX Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Berlin, Germany.

Martinez H., De Araujo Sanchez M., Nelson B., Nelson L., Ablow J., & Laurent H. (2014, July). Anxiety, Depression, Maternal responsiveness/parental responsiveness. Presented at the XIX Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Berlin, Germany.

Wright D., De Araujo Sanchez M., Nelson B., Hertz R., Ablow J., & Laurent H. (2014, July). Mothers’ Own Perceived Experience With an Overprotective Parent Relates to Neural Response to Their Infant’s Cry. Presented at the XIX Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Berlin, Germany.

You deserve to thrive.

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