Support Your Life-BAlance
We Support Maui Strong. Reach out 707-461-0708 for more information about receiving in person and telehelath counseling.
What is The Life Balance Approach?
Identifying your goals, supporting your growth.
Everyone has times of struggle. Sometimes the challenge to balance life responsibilities and private pain is overwhelming. The aim at Life Balance Maui is to identify your goals and work towards healthy change that is meaningful and valuable to you. Even in times of severe stress or after extreme trauma and loss, there are ways to connect to your strength, resilience and hope in lasting and transformative ways.
Growth and change
In life, there is always the potential for growth. Habits can change, patterns can shift, wounds heal with care, and diagnoses can be managed. We can live more truly balanced lives with less pain and more freedom.
Every painful life problem is different, everyone heals in different ways. The greater your commitment to the therapy, the more likely your goals will be met. I am honored to partner you in this journey, whether you are looking for short term, solution based sessions or longer, more in-depth treatment. Feel free to connect via e-mail: dandekar@hawaii.edu or the dedicated client line: 707-461-0708 to schedule a free consultation.
About Sarala
I respect and acknowledge that my clients are the experts in their lives. I'm constantly impressed by the wisdom, insight and motivation people have to find meaningful ways forward in their most difficult times. Every person holds within themselves the power to heal but change is often scary and fear and resistance can be difficult to overcome. I use a variety of clinically evidenced based tools and modalities from EMDR and somatic practices to traditional talk therapy, behavioral modification, and motivational interviewing to gently support change, growth, balance, and resilience. In addition to individual therapy, I welcome family and couples work. I have worked with youth and adults on Maui for 20 years, in the public schools, private practice, and volunteering with grassroots community non-profits. I have an M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology. I strive to provide culturally sensitive and informed clinical care of the highest standard to all of my clients.
Striving for Balance
Life is a series of changes, transitions and adjustments within ourselves, our world, and in relationship with others. Sometimes these changes come with shocking impacts and lasting pain. We can feel stuck for years juggling our own private balancing act of pain, stress and the pressure to perform wellness. Coping works until it doesn't. To fully experience healing and transformation we often require support through change. Although change can be scary, working through the fear can lead to a resilience and an authentic well being that best serves our lives and our relationships.
Client testimonials
I would like to express my gratitude for all the guidance Sarala Dandekar has given me in the last year! She is kind, compassionate, and incredibly insightful. This last year has been a struggle with my husband’s illness and my anxiety. I am forever grateful for her guidance!!
(—QM)
"We can't thank Sarala enough for helping our child deal with some anxieties that he was having. Our child always looked forward to his sessions with Sarala and learned a lot about how to deal with his internal feelings from her. In a matter of a session or two, our child demonstrated noticeable improvements with respect to school attendance. In the end, our child made a full recovery and has been able to attend school without worry and hesitation thanks to his sessions with Sarala.”
(—BD)
My daughter was referred to Sarala when we decided to part with her previous therapist. From day one, Sarala was very warm and transparent. Right away she asked us parents what we were hoping to accomplish with our daughter meeting with her, and as she got to know our family she began to work with all of us as needed. Our daughter took to Sarala very quickly, and has built a great rapport with her. One of the main things our daughter struggled with was communicating openly as she goes back and forth between my house and her dad and stepmom's house. Since being with Sarala, our daughter has been communicating more openly and honestly. Sarala has been beyond amazing with our daughter, and also with us, parents. She has been very supportive with our parenting dynamics, individually and together as co-parents. She helped us facilitate a co-parenting meeting to help guide us to be more effective listeners, and to talk more openly with each other about things that could affect our parenting. It has been great working with Sarala, and we're all so thankful for what she has done for our daughter/ ohana.
(—LF)
Our family was blindsided by a tragedy. Sarala sat with us when we were in our darkest hour, she showed us true care. She didn’t offer us false comfort, and seemed like she really did understand the pain. Our church is full of good people but we were so devastated and couldn’t face the church who knew us when we were whole. I will always be grateful this small lady could hold all that weight of our grief and struggle.
(—HB)
Words alone cannot express how thankful we are to have found Sarala Dandekar to help our daughter cope with OCD. Sarala was the only person who was able to see our daughter in person and made herself always available to meet. I truly felt that her care, knowledge, and patience has helped my daughter and our whole family through one of the toughest challenges we've had to go through. We were in panic mode because we needed to know how best to help our child manage her OCD. Sarala worked tirelessly in her research, consulting with experts in this area, other professionals, and our child's school. Not only did she come up with a clear plan but she was able to help us calm down and see things from a whole new perspective. She truly made me feel that I had a vested partner in this journey - and along the way, she helped celebrate all the successes and came up with viable solutions when we hit new bumps in the road. In many respects, she helped our whole family dynamic and how we approach strategies in empowering our child to manage her OCD. We highly recommend Sarala Dandekar to any family where their adolescent child may need some extra support and help navigating this phase in their young lives. (—SM)