Sasha Ayad is a Licensed Professional Counselor who works in private practice, and has treated adolescents for over 13 years. Her work focuses on teens and young adults struggling with issues of gender dysphoria and gender identity. She became interested in the sharp rise in teenagers who declare a trans identity for the first time during adolescence. She discovered, through working with hundreds of families, that teens were developing gender dysphoria only after adopting a transgender identity. She questions the practice of medical transition for children and teenagers, and her clinical work focuses on developmentally appropriate, least-invasive-first talk therapy.
She is also the co-host of Gender: A Wider Lens Podcast and a founding board member of the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine, The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association, Genspect, The Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research, and of the International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners.
Sasha's previous work experience includes:
- School counselor for middle- and high-school students at a charter school for underserved communities
- Behavioral therapy with children on the autism spectrum
- Individual and group counseling for women and children impacted by domestic abuse and sexual violence
- Developed and ran the first counseling program at a large state supported living facility for adults with intellectual disability
Sasha holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology.