How did you do that?
It's the question clients ask most often. And it's my favorite part of the job.
I'm Sara Stanizai, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of Prospect Therapy in Long Beach, California. I specialize in couples work, and in being genuinely useful to the humans in front of me.
You're probably not looking for the stereotypical nice-white-lady therapist. I'm not interested in being that.
I spent years working in nonprofits and agencies. Doing good work, making friends, eating sad office birthday cake at least once a month, and quietly putting away the parts of myself that didn't fit the professional dress code.
I was competent. I was appropriate. I was genuinely helping people.
I thought I was operating at full capacity. Turns out I was at about 60%. You don't know how much you've been holding back until you stop.
Starting Prospect Therapy in 2018 was the experiment of finding out what happened if I stopped doing that. The more myself I am, the more effective I am. As a therapist, as a leader, as someone sitting across from a couple who has tried everything and is running out of patience with each other.
I believe you. Whatever you came in carrying - the thing you weren't sure anyone would take seriously, the identity you've been cautious about naming out loud - I'm not going to therapy it out of you.
I'm Afghan-American, an eldest daughter, Muslim-ish, and bisexual. I've spent a lot of time in rooms where I was the only one of some of those things, and a lot of time with clients who are navigating what it means to live at the intersection of identities that don't always make room for each other. I know what it's like to hold a complex relationship with culture, family, faith, and belonging - and to still be figuring some of it out. That's not background. It's the work.
I Start with Love. But I’ll leave you with the truth.
The best roasts are done by the biggest fans. That's essentially my clinical philosophy. And it's not a bit, it's just the most honest description of how this works.
Most people who come to therapy - especially couples - don't need more validation. They need someone who sees them clearly, holds them warmly, and is honest about what's happening in the room. The warmth is what makes the honesty land. Without it, directness is just criticism. Most of my clients have had enough of that already.
I give out care and attention like candy. I will also tell you things your previous therapists may have danced around.
My primary framework is Relational Life Therapy. It is a directive, non-neutral approach built on the premise that real change requires an honest relationship, not a carefully managed one. I also work from the Gottman Method, feminist and somatic theory, and fifteen years of sitting with couples in all kinds of configurations and crises. I'm trained thoroughly enough to trust what the training can't teach; to know when the work calls for something the manual doesn't cover.
What that looks like in practice: I join quickly. I track each partner simultaneously. I notice what's not being said and find a way to say it back. That moment when someone's defenses come down because they finally feel genuinely gotten - I've never gotten tired of it.
Who I work with
I'm obsessed with couples work. Have been for fifteen years. Married couples, partnered couples, couples who've been together two years and couples who've been together twenty. Couples in crisis and couples who are paying attention before it becomes one.
I specialize in intercultural couples: Partnerships where different family systems, cultural expectations, or unspoken rules about how relationships are supposed to work are part of the dynamic. I work with neurodivergent couples, where one or both partners are autistic, have ADHD, or are newly understanding how their neurology shapes what happens between them. I work with queer and trans couples, non-monogamous partnerships, and couples navigating religious deconstruction or significant identity shifts.
The common thread isn't a demographic. It's couples who want to actually change something.
I also see individuals. Particularly people in a season of figuring out who they are outside of a religion, a relationship, a family system, or a version of themselves that no longer fits. My caseload has always been eclectic. I like it that way.
Who Are My people?
Fellow Afghan-Americans and those in the Asian or SWANA diaspora. Those who were raised Muslim or are “muslim-ish,” and want to reconcile the different expectations from their communities. Or at the very least, want someone who understands what it’s like to be one way at home and another way out in the world. I’ve run Afghan women’s groups, and work with individuals and couples navigating cultural differences.
Eldest daughters and the people who love them. Maybe you were positioned in your family as the caretaker and problem-solver. But chances are you have continued to play that role voluntarily. Hear me out! There is a lot of benefit to being the one in charge, but it also comes at a cost. The cost of vulnerability, intimacy, and reciprocal relationships. Through my research and running eldest daughters groups, plus my own experience as a first-born daughter in an immigrant family, my work is designed to help you know when and how to turn on and off your alpha side.
High-achieving individuals and "power couples." People who are successful, driven, and know where they're going in their career, but maybe feel a little lost in other areas. People who are used to success hate feeling lost! High-achievers frequently have overcome a significant trauma or major life change early in their upbringing. This can lead to difficulty setting boundaries, and over-extending yourself to the point where you feel resentment and responsibility for making sure things run smoothly. I help people make sense of the relationship between their past and their present, and make choices that are aligned with their values. Learn more about how I work with power couples and high-achievers.
The "black sheep." People who don't feel like they know where they belong. This is particularly common among first-generation/immigrant Americans like myself. When your family is from the old country and you're trying to navigate white America, life can feel like a series of Motel 6's when you're just trying to get home. Except you're not really sure where home is. This can end up causing feelings of inadequacy, rejection, anxiety, and depression. People who don't have this experience tend not to know how to relate to it, but I certainly do! Learn more about how I work with first-generation Americans.
The queer and trans community. As a bisexual cisgender woman I'm part of the community myself, and am particularly attuned to how the erasure of different identities affects people. There isn't "one way to be queer." I recognize the impact of internalized and institutionalized homo/bi/transphobia on people's mental health, but also don't make the mistake of attributing all your issues to your gender identity or sexual orientation. Learn more about how I provide transgender and nonbinary affirming therapy.
Prospect Therapy
I founded Prospect Therapy in 2018 with a specific idea: that good therapy requires a therapist who shows up as a whole person, and that clients deserve clinicians who bring genuine expertise, cultural humility, and real human presence to the work.
The practice has grown into a group of therapists who share that orientation, each with their own specializations, committed to working with clients the traditional therapy world has historically underserved.
If I'm not the right fit, someone on our team likely is. Meet the rest of my team.
If you’re looking for my coaching programs or want to book me to speak for your organization, click here.
Read to get started?
New clients can schedule a free consultation call below. If you're inquiring about a couples therapy intensive, that process starts a little differently.
The details
Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT98421), licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Relational Life Therapy - Level 3 trained and certification track
Gottman Method Couple Therapy - Level 3 trained
Somatic Embodiment and Regulation - certificate
Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and certified Cognitive Therapist
Advanced Certificate in Transgender Affirming Therapy from Widener University
Training and expertise in feminist therapy, trauma-informed care, understanding neurodiversity, motivational interviewing, assessment and treatment of intimate partner violence, and queer and trans affirming therapy
Board member, Asian Mental Health Collective
Board member, Mind-1-1
Former board member, Los Angeles Bisexual Task Force
MA in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (Los Angeles Campus)
BA, in Art History and Latin from Mount Holyoke College