Hi, I’m Sarah Cifuentes, a registered social worker, psychotherapist + founder of The Inner Wellspring Studio.
I hold a Master of Social Work degree from University of Toronto, with a specialization in health + mental health, along with two Honours Bachelor degrees in Sociology/Psychology and Social Work, from Queen’s University and Lakehead University, respectively.
I have 8+ years of experience working within the mental health field in Toronto, supporting a diverse array of individuals in both community-based mental health organizations and private settings. I also have extensive experience providing harm reduction + support to those preparing for or processing psychedelic experiences, including 2.5 years of experience working as a Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapist.
My work is rooted in the belief that within every person exists a wellspring — a living source of wisdom, creativity, and innate capacity for healing. Yet for so many, this wellspring can become muddled due to painful life experiences and messages received from the sociocultural environment that we exist in. We often develop parts that take on extreme roles in order to protect us, leading to layers of self-doubt, striving, and exhaustion.
I view the therapy hour as a sacred pause from the demands of daily life, providing a space where we begin to soften those layers — to listen to the parts of you that have been working so hard to keep you safe, and to rediscover what it feels like to be at ease in your own body, your relationships, and your life.
I honour the full spectrum of the human experience, which includes both trauma and triumph, pleasure and pain, beauty and grief, and everything in between. I believe that some of the greatest insights and wisdom come from tending to our deepest, darkest inner places, meeting all parts of ourselves with curiosity and compassion.
Who am I?
I arrived at this career path fuelled by a deep longing to walk alongside others on their paths of healing and self-discovery. Like many of the humans I support, I am no stranger to loneliness, darkness, and the search for meaning.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the mystery of being human — drawn to the big existential questions and the many ways we make sense of our experience. Over the past decade, I’ve devoted myself to my own unfolding: healing, learning, unlearning, and finding beauty in the imperfect, ever-evolving process of doing so.
Outside my role as therapist, I am also a community herbalist, spiritual seeker, and lover of all things that awaken the senses. I find beauty in slow, quiet mornings; deep conversations, and getting lost in new places. I love travelling, cooking + eating good food, connecting with like-hearted humans, singing, dancing, hiking, and learning (I am endlessly curious and always enrolled in a course of some sort!) I am always exploring new ways to live a free, balanced, meaningful life.
Nature has been, and continues to be, one of my biggest teachers - constantly reminding me to honour the seasons and cycles within myself, and all of life. I feel most connected to myself when I am in the forest, by the ocean, or in the mountains. I crave a return to a slow pace of life. As a community herbalist, I believe that entering into relationships with plants can be incredibly healing, reconnecting us to the intelligence within and remembering our place in the web of life.
My Values
Harmony
Encouraging a balance between doing and being, thinking and feeling, work and play, expansion and contraction, honouring our inner seasons and cycles, ebbs and flows as mirrored within nature.
Authenticity
Taking ownership of what is true for us + aligning our actions in congruence with our deeply held values and desires. This includes letting go of who we thinking we “should” be, often fuelled by dominant cultural narratives.
Curiosity
Refraining from making assumptions and operating from the stance that there is always more to learn + understand. There are a multitude of different perspectives and ways of knowing.
Compassion
Cultivating a more gentle + kinder relationship with all parts of ourselves — even the undesirable ones. Compassion can feel difficult at first, but can arise slowly and organically through consistent practice of showing up for ourselves.
Play
We can practice orienting ourselves towards humour, pleasure, comfort, and joy. Not getting so caught up in ‘doing’, achieving, healing that we forget to play and enjoy life along the way.
Embodiment
Grounding ourselves in our bodily experiences to foster a meaningful relationship between our mind, body, and spirit. Our bodies are constantly communicating our needs, emotions, and desires. We can learn to listen to its language (sensation).
My approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and relational. I place deep value on the connection we build and work with you to shape a plan that feels meaningful and aligned, weaving together evidence-based methods and holistic practices. Clients describe my style as warm, approachable, equipped with a playful curiosity. My approach is LGBTQIA+ and queer-affirming.
My integrative approach weaves together:
Internal Family Systems (IFS): helping you understand and care for your inner parts
EMDR Therapy: for processing memories and emotional patterns stored in the body
Conscious Connected Breathwork: to regulate your nervous system and restore inner balance
Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Practices: for increased self-awareness and capacity to meet life in its full spectrum of experience
Our sessions are collaborative and spacious — a balance of depth, safety, and curiosity. Together, we explore not just what hurts, but what wants to emerge.
Who I Support
I support sensitive, introspective women in their 20s–40s navigating:
chronic stress or trauma, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm
perfectionism, people-pleasing, or burnout
low self-worth, self-doubt + disconnection from purpose or body
life transitions, existential crises, grief, and relational challenges
My clients are often seekers — thoughtful, creative, and growth-oriented — who long for a more authentic and easeful way of being.
I am deeply curious and passionate about learning (forever learning!) I honour and acknowledge that there are many different ways of knowing. Knowing things by engaging our intellectual mind through institutional modes of education is only one way. We can also come to know through our body, through our own direct experience, through being in relation to others and the greater web of life that we are all connected to.
I am grateful for the privilege to access continuing education so that I can better serve my clients. I am also a big proponent of doing my own inner work. I engage in a regular meditation, yoga, and breathwork practice. I also engage in regular clinical supervision, peer consultation, and personal somatic psychotherapy in order to ensure I maintain a high level of personal integrity and skill in my work.
Professional Memberships
Education
Continuing Education Highlights
Yoga + Movement
Ontario College of Social Workers + Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW)
Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW)
Master of Social Work, University of Toronto (2021)
Honours Bachelor of Social Work, Lakehead University (2019)
Bachelor of Arts Honours in Sociology, Queen’s University (2014)
Embodied Experiential Dreamwork, Dr. Leslie Ellis (2025)
Getting Unstuck, 3-day Hakomi workshop, Toronto Hakomi (2024)
Mastering IFS — Deepening Your Core Practice Advanced Weekend, IFSCA (2024)
EMDR Therapy Level I + II with an Expressive Arts Focus, Mindful Journey Centre (2024)
Breathwave (Conscious Connected Breath work) Level 1 + 2, Breathwave, Vancouver Island BC (2023)
Herbalism for Grief and Trauma Support, Motherwort + Rose (2023)
Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate, The Embody Lab (2022)
Emotion-Focused Therapy: Attachment Science, Psychwire (2022)
Stepping Stones - Internal Family Systems 16-week Comprehensive Course, IFSCA (2022)
Foundations of Jungian Somatics, Jane Clapp (2022)
Trauma-Focused Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Psychwire (2022)
Experiential Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Training, Field Trip Health (2021)
Emotion-Focused Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, Adele Lefrance (2021)
Psychedelic Integration: Premise & Promise, Fluence (2020)
ASIST - Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Ease Inc. (2019)
200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, Soul Work, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (2020)
Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training, Soul Work (2021)
Trauma-Sensitive Yin Yoga Teacher Training, Soul Work (2021)
Meditation & Pranayama Teacher Training, Soul Work (2022)
Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, Soul Work (2023)
Reiki Level I, Adayna Janelle, Toronto Ontario (2025)
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
— Carl Jung