William Devon-Sand
DBT and IFS Therapist
RSW (Registered Social Worker)
MSW Masters of Social Work
Accepting new clients in-person and virtually
I believe people are the experts on their own lives. My role isn't to direct or fix, but to be genuinely with someone as they find their own way through. People tend to get to know me as a person in our work together. I bring warmth, honesty, and a bit of myself into the room.
What I love most about this work is the quality of presence it asks for. I believe sitting with what's hard and trusting that being truly met is itself part of healing.
I work with a range of people including those trying to connect with their emotions and have difficulty feeling and find themselves getting easily stuck in their head in rumination loops. I also work with those who find themselves easily in anger and have difficulty navigating emotions. Most people I work with come with a desire to improve relational issues and communication and get unstuck in repeating patterns.
I take a trauma-informed approach weaving in DBT-informed, mindfulness based therapy and Internal Family Systems therapy into my sessions with clients.
Area of Focus
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Complex Trauma & PTSD
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Life Transitions
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Emotional Connection to Self and Others
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Anger and Emotion Regulation Issues
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Relationship Communication Issues
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Grief and Loss
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Couples and Relationship Therapy
Therapy Modalities
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
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Internal Family Systems (IFS)
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Emotion Focussed Therapy (EFT)
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Mindfulness Based Approaches
William's Counselling Experience
I came to counselling by a longer road than most. I've worked as a teacher and a software engineer, and somewhere along the way I realized what I kept coming back to was people: their stories, their struggles, and the chance to simply be there for someone. Counselling is the best work I've ever done, and I can't imagine doing anything else.
My counselling experience includes working in a DBT Centre, and in non-profit dedicated to providing compassionate and affordable therapy to underrepresented individuals in need including people from the global majority.
More About William
Outside of work, I am enjoying life as a new dad. I've had a mindfulness practice for close to twenty years which has been a grounding force in my life. I love playing basketball, and will watch almost any sport. I'm Jewish and I'm a dog person.
Education and Training
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Masters of Social Work (MSW), University of Southern California, 2022
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Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Relay Graduate School of Education
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Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of Rochester
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Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 1 — IFS Institute (2025)
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Fundamentals of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — Vancouver Centre for EFT (2025)
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Foundations of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy — Numinus (2024)
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Training - Behavior Tech (2023)
