about kyrie sankaran, ph.d.
I grew up in multicultural Singapore, into an Indian and Chinese family. My undergraduate degree was in theology from Chicago in 1986. I completed my Masters in Counseling Psychology at Gonzaga University in Washington, and my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. My practicum, internship, and post-doctoral hours included assessing, diagnosing, and treating college students, school-aged children, psychiatric hospital outpatients, and infants/young children and their families.
A current emphasis of my private practice is working with adults. I was IEDTA-certified as an Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) practitioner in 2020 after completing a three-year core training at the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington D.C. I have found ISTDP to be extremely effective in first identifying the ways we create and maintain the emotionally stuck places in which we find ourselves, then in facing them we find the resolutions we have always longed for.
Early in my career, I was hired by the Children’s Institute to coordinate and direct its early childhood mental health programs in Los Angeles. One of the opportunities of my administrative job was to lead weekly Baby and Me bonding groups where I played my guitar and helped young, at-risk mothers discover the simple joy of singing songs and moving with their babies and toddlers. During my tenure at the Children’s Institute, I became a National Trainer in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), a trauma treatment for young children and their families. I have trained, supervised, and consulted with several groups of clinicians and clinical supervisors in California and Kentucky to use this attachment and relational-based approach.
While directing the programs and supervising the clinicians at Children’s Institute, I was concurrently given the opportunity to complete a 15-month post-doctoral fellowship in Infant-Parent Mental Health at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. This training gave me a deep understanding of infant and young children’s development, their attachment and psychological difficulties, and ways to help them and their families more effectively. As an Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist, and a Reflective Practice Mentor in California, I continue to provide consultation and supervision to clinical programs, clinicians, parents, care providers, and teachers.
The unique circumstances surrounding the recent pandemic invited me to relocate from Los Angeles to a smaller community in Ojai, CA, where I currently have my practice. During my free time, I enjoy taking photographs of nature and birds. I also love hiking, soaking up, and rejuvenating in Ojai’s natural beauty.