Lucy Sunday MFT, cMT-P
I was raised in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, surrounded by contemplatives, meditators and artists. From an early age my father ran a social-model hospice, steeping me in a living awareness of impermanence and a life orientation rooted in care, humility and connection. That upbringing shaped my deepest strengths: a steady relationship with uncertainty and a trust in the present moment as a space where possibilities emerge.
Before becoming a therapist, I built and led progressive HR departments for global health and wellness ventures, work that eventually drew me toward a more radical, anti-capitalist understanding of what true well-being means.
I bring all of this to my practice. I work relationally and collaboratively, attuning to the whole person: emotional, neurobiological, somatic, cognitiveand spiritual. I am guided by a lived experience of the world as poetic and profoundly interconnected, and by a deep confidence in our basic goodness.
My own path has been shaped by years of meditation practice and a commitment to meeting my own suffering with compassion and curiosity. The liberation I have found through this work is what called me to the healing profession. This reverence for complexity informs my work as a systemic therapist, supporting individuals, couples and families in navigating relationships shaped by familial, cultural and environmental forces, trusting that healing arises when we meet ourselves and each other with presence and care.
What this means in practice: I work slowly enough to follow what's actually happening, and closely enough to notice what you might be about to skip past. I believe in the intelligence of the body, the coherence of even the most difficult parts of ourselves, and the capacity of the present moment to open things up. I show up fully in the room, with the belief that this supports you in doing the same.
"I have spent years sitting with couples in their hardest moments. What I know is this: the longing to feel connected is always there. It is the fear, the self-protection, the old wounds that make it hard to feel into. That is where our work begins."
Training & Credentials
MA in Couple & Family Therapy AUNE · MFT
Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Levels I and II
Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Certified Level I
Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) – Dan Siegel, MD (Certification in progress)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship & Core Skills I-IV
Pragmatic Experiential Couples Therapy (PET-C) - Level I
Certified Mindfulness Teacher (IMTA) 500 hours cMT-P - The Engaged Mindfulness Institute
The Art of Jungian Couples Therapy - Pacifica Graduate Institute
Trauma Informed Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (TF-DBT) - AMFM Healthcare
Somatic Experiencing (SE) – Foundational Theory & Principles Certification
Sessions Live: Mating In The Metacrisis with Esther Perel
Specialization in Trauma & LGBTQIA+ Affirming Practice – AUNE
Working with Polyamorous & Ethically Non-Monogamous Couples (Supervision, Yana Tallon-Hicks, LMFT)
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) – The Engaged Mindfulness Institute
Death & Dying Guidance - Sarah House Hospice of Santa Barbara
Ongoing Dharma study, practice, and instruction with Sam Bercholz