Episode #9: High Sensitivity and a New Lens on Life
How Dr. Sandra Clifton is using her personal journey to support highly sensitive students and reframe sensitivity in education and healthcare.
Welcome back to The Happy HSP Podcast. I’m your host Kimberly Marshall, and today I’m joined by Dr. Sandra Clifton — she’s an educator, therapist, life coach, and an advocate for HSPs in education and mental health. In this episode, she shares how discovering her sensitivity gave her a new lens on life, and how that personal understanding led to her mission of reframing how sensitivity is understood in the workplace, at the doctor’s office, and in the classroom.
It’s honest, it’s personal, and it’s full of reassurance and insight.
I hope you enjoy it!
Kim: Hi, Dr. Sandra. So nice to have you. Thank you so much for joining me on the Happy HSP podcast. I like to start out about learning more about your journey, your personal journey in sensitivity, and finding out how you found out you were highly sensitive and a little bit about what that journey looked like for you.
Dr. Sandra: Awesome so grateful to be here. Thank you for inviting me. Yeah, there was a moment in time and it’s like I always get chills when I share the story. There’s a before times and then an after. So once upon a time about, I guess it’s been now 15 years ago, just about, I’m really Kimberly, I’m not great with math.
Kim: Oh, me neither.
Dr. Sandra: Track of all the years. But about 15 years ago, our family was at a reunion at a beautiful place called Green Lake, Wisconsin. And I’ll never forget, I was out on the screen-in porch, and I was soaking up the morning and just having a moment out there. And my sister, who had just been going through a really tough divorce and she was married for 25 years, and she had been working with a counselor and through that work with a counselor, she found a book and she said to me, and my family calls me Sandy. So, she said, Sandy, I think there’s a book you should read. And I’ll never forget, I turned to look at her. I turned to my left and she handed me Dr. Elaine Aaron’s book, The Highly Sensitive Person. And I did read it, and it changed my life forever. It changed my career forever.
It changed me from the inside out and it was like a key, a magical key to a secret garden because always before I had never told anyone. I was terrified that someone would figure out that I was crazy or say that I was find that flaw that made me, I don’t know, officially, officially flawed and wrong. And so I, reading that book, it opened up so many layers of understanding and connection and just honestly mind-blowing revelations. And so going from there, I realized that I had been attracting clients who were highly sensitive, but I didn’t know it and they didn’t know it and their parents didn’t know it.
And I always had pets who were highly sensitive and we’re all very different, but my whole family is highly sensitive. And so all of the lenses when you go to the eye doctor and he was like, is this better? Is this better? Or she, yes, yes. It was like all of these different lenses were falling down and offering me a different way to see the world.
Kim: I love that analogy.
Dr. Sandra: Yeah.
Kim: That is so beautiful. So that must’ve been a moment. So, you said that your family is highly sensitive, and I love that you mentioned you tend to bring in clients and pets even same here, by the way, I say my one cat is an HSC. She’s a highly sensitive cat, so I feel like I get that. So, is your sister highly sensitive? And she read that and was like, Hey, you need to share in this with me?
Dr. Sandra: Well, she’s interesting… I call her my HSS my highly sensitive sister. We can get to it. But the last person I thanked, but the first person who I always acknowledge, I just did in my dissertation, the last person I mentioned was her. We are all very different, and I think this is important to identify with being highly sensitive. We’re all very, very different. So, my sister and my mom and dad are incredibly stoic.
I think one thing about being highly sensitive is, and I mean I’m feeling myself wanting to go into these other directions, but I’m trying to keep it sort of, I worry that it becomes a stereotype and that there’s only certain molds. And if you look at my immediate family, we’re all completely unique, but just staying in this one moment, I’m so, so grateful that she saw that in me because I don’t think it’s always possible to be able to identify the trait of high sensitivity in others.
Now, Michael Pluess in England is creating these scales to identify highly sensitive children, and they’re based on teacher observations. And so, I tried not to go there, but I just went there because I am concerned. The internal experience of the outer world I think is such an important one to honor in this journey of claiming if you’re highly sensitive. So, I’ll just pause there, but I will share this. My sister, when we were growing up, we went to see this movie, I’m going to date myself, but Dances with Wolves and at the park where Kevin Costner gets his Indian name, his native American name dances with wolves. And my sister just snapped her head and looked at me and she said, and your Indian name is, makes a fuss.
Kim: You’re like, oh, hey. Thanks.
Dr. Sandra: Yeah.
Kim: It’s funny when you mentioned that, I wonder how I would feel, to your point, it’s such an individual journey. We are all so unique in our ways. Like yes, we are highly sensitive, but what makes me, me and you is so different. We have all these unique gifts. Our journeys are very different. There’s a million different ways that we can express that sensitivity.
So, I’m totally with you on that. And I also want to be cognizant that not everybody that has high sensitivity appreciates it or identifies with it as you or I might, where we’re in a place where we might celebrate it maybe a little bit more. At least that’s been my journey. But you mentioned that when you got this book, you saw the world with these different lenses. Can you kind of explain a little bit what that was like? Maybe what changed for you then and how?
Dr. Sandra: Everything, yeah, so I mean, I think when you start peeling back layers with participants, and I did this in my doctoral research, I was asking these questions and every single thing from my medical diagnoses to my learning at school, to my friendships, to why dating has been difficult in many ways, why I’m still waiting for the partner who I think is the best fit for me, how I’ve processed what it means to be in the world and not go through these typical channel markers in the ways that other people do.
My appreciation of artists and musicians and poets and politicians and so many other people who are working with this trait in miraculous ways. And I was thinking before I came to the call, I was just like, what would it be like if instead of calling an actor or actress or a musician a diva, we understood that when they said, I really need this in my dressing room, it was because that of that trait, if you’re in the dressing room and you have a certain flower there with a certain smell, it helps you to know, oh, I’m okay. I’m safe. It’s not about being this high demanding, impossible-to-please artiste. It’s about channeling that gift and being able to give it to others, and what a beautiful way to look at that with a different lens. Does that make sense?
Kim: Yes, absolutely. It’s like we’re not just saying these things because we’re being difficult or needy or things like that. It’s like, no, there’s a certain way that we need to show up in the world, especially if we’re going to do our jobs and do them well, and it’s ways that we can connect to certain parts of ourselves and be able to show up as the best self. Am I hearing you correctly is that?
Dr. Sandra: Oh yeah. You’re bringing back a memory with my teaching when I was a high school English teacher and I had all these “Clifton quirks” and I was like, listen, I really want to answer your questions, but you need to let me walk in the building and hang up my coat and get my coffee and open up my laptop. And if you see all those things have happened, then you can knock on the door. But I really, I’m sorry, but it’s a very great chance that I’m going to bark at you because I don’t have my things in place. You know what I mean? And then I can look up and smile and say, good morning. But until those things have happened, you don’t want to do whatever’s going on. You don’t want to get involved in that.
So I mean, I had these Clifton corks I swear. I just looked back at my, there were fluorescent lights and I would turn off half of them. Thank goodness there were two switches, because they would be buzzing in my head, and I just, right. And I was like, you have to clip off your ragged edges that wouldn’t take the papers. I’m so old. We still had things turned in by hand. I just was like, I cannot handle the ragged edges. So I don’t know the environment. I think one thing that is a common thread for most highly sensitive people is the environment really matters.
Kim: Yeah. So with you there, it’s funny. I love that you mentioned that because often I find myself not being able to concentrate or do my work until I’ve had time to do this and set up my office a certain way. There’s a weird where I can't focus unless, and it kind of reminded me of those coffee mugs. I don’t know if you’ve seen them. It was like, do not talk to me still not yet. And until you get to the bottom and it’s like, I’m getting there. I still need some time. And then it’s like, okay, now you can ask me a question. I love that. That’s so true. That’s so true. I definitely identify with that. That’s something that I need.
Dr. Sandra: As you’re saying that, I’m just thinking about what a beautiful thing would that be if my students, my clients, kids, had a way for others to know non-verbally where their tank is. It’s the reverse. The glass is empty now I’m okay, versus the glass is half full. But a way to show folks I need a transition.
A lot of parents, a lot of people don’t understand how important because we’re processing so much, no one has any clue what’s going on. They think we’re drinking a cup of coffee, and we are going through all of these different machinations in our hearts and heads to get to the point where we can access what we need to because there’s a whole lot going on.
Kim: Oh my gosh, you’re so right. It’s funny. It goes back to me. For me, this brings up the whole boundary conversation because it’s so important for us, for our clients or whoever we work with, to feel more comfortable to say, I don’t know. I don’t know if you can relate to this, but I was in a point for a long time, and I know a lot of the HSPs that I’ve talked to feel the same, where we’re trying to be kind and we’re trying to accommodate everybody else that empathetic part that I want to make you feel comfortable.
And there’s a part where we have to say, in order for me to show up for you, I need this. I really want to help you out, but I need time right now. I need to rest. I will be with you when I can give you a hundred percent. But right now, that can’t happen. To have the courage to stick up for our own needs first, so we can be better in our relationships, we can be better at our jobs. It’s almost like it feels like kind of backwards in that way, but I am starting to learn that’s so important, even if it’s just a cup of coffee, because to your point, it’s not just a cup of coffee. It’s filling our battery. It’s kind of bringing ourselves back to our whole self.
Dr. Sandra: And when we don’t have that opportunity, then to be compassionate to ourselves and to say, you were working on a fraction of what you needed. Exactly. Of course, you’re going to wake up today after four days straight of 12-hour shifts and be exhausted and not be like, oh, let’s do yoga at 6:00 a.m. and let’s solve the world’s problems by 8:00 AM. No, you can’t be wired. You can’t be giving all the time.
And so I think we’re hard on ourselves because we do have such depth and breadth that when we get to that point of like, oh my gosh, I’m exhausted. Instead of saying, what’s wrong with me flipping that and saying, Hey, sister, friend, you just did all that. Now we have to come in and replenish. But our society, I think is well, so immediate, so hyper reflexes, I’m not even sure that’s, you know what I’m trying to say, hyper reflexive, not reflective produce. Exactly. That we really, truly feel innately defective that way.
Kim: So how did this journey bring you to the work that you’re doing? Can you share some about the work that you’re doing and how that led you to what you do?
Dr. Sandra: So, I realized I was attracting highly sensitive, twice-exceptional individuals to my practice. And I mentioned to you before we started that I’m like a junkie. I am with learning. Every time my family hears the words, this is the last one. They know I’m lying.
Kim: They know it’s not. Just kidding.
Dr. Sandra: Recently when Covid happened, like a typical HSP, I literally looked at the landscape and I could see there were certain things I couldn't anticipate and I didn’t see, but one thing I did in my bones see was four years. I was like, this is going to be four years and you're a celiac and you are not going to bake bread. So you have two choices. You’re either going to go crazy or you’re going to do something you said you never would, which is work on a doctorate.
Wow. Okay. I choose the doctorate. Crazy. I mean, well, you know what I mean? But I had said if I ever work on my doctorate will always and only be to be able to be Dr. Clifton. I did my dissertation on the trade of high sensitivity, and I got to do that. I got to take that journey and I got to go the full distance. I didn’t know if it would get approved and all of those things. But I got to write my dissertation on 13, highly sensitive, twice-exceptional individuals.
And I think I do consider myself an ambassador. I try to be an ambassador in education for promoting our awareness and our support of highly sensitive students because I think they’re not identified, obviously, they’re not supported, they are shunned. And my research showed all the different ways that it’s a miracle every single one of those 13 people survived. It really is. And my findings and the themes for my findings were pretty dark and pretty deep.
Kim: Is that something you can share with us more about your findings and what you were looking for and hoping to solve with your dissertation?
Dr. Sandra: Well, I mean, it was a qualitative research study. So I’m about asking the questions more than I am providing the answers. And that makes me an anomaly in the world really, because I think we were talking about social media. One of the reasons I’m not on social media is I do not have your bite-size answer. I don’t have your boiled-down reduction sauce. I don’t have your quick fix. But I did through my study, get to explore the journey of highly sensitive students and what it’s like when you aren’t seen and you’re terrified of being seen. It’s like this seesaw of I really need someone to see me, but I’m going to do everything in the world to prevent that because I want to survive.
So anyway, the findings too were really tough because I was a teacher, and the stories of how insensitive educators often are really hard. We did have a couple people who had those. This person saved my life stories, but also many of my participants came from families that added to the trauma that they were experiencing as a highly sensitive person. And so that was really tough and hard as well. Yeah,
I think one of my biggest takeaways was, well, and this is called vantage sensitivity. A little bit goes a long way, a little bit of, not goes a long way, but a little bit of encouragement and support goes a long way. So that idea that investing, if you’re highly sensitive in mental health or nutritional support or social circles or whatever it is, they now have studies that support, it’s not only is it more, and I hate to say this, but it’s true, it’s more beneficial for highly sensitive people, but it’s also longer lasting. So, you get more bang for your buck every time you invest in a highly sensitive person.
Kim: It might not just be so surface level for us, it is other people’s sense of belief in us, or how can I explain this? Kind words affect us deeply and stay with us.
Dr. Sandra: Exactly.
Kim: And sustain us in ways that people might not understand. Yeah, that makes sense. So, what do we do with that information? I know we don't have answers, but what's your sense of where these questions lead?
Dr. Sandra: Yeah, I mean, that’s one reason why I wanted to earn my doctorate was because I really got tired of people telling me that I was making this up. I wanted to have a science-based chip where I could say, actually, and it’s hard. I mean even saying it to you and the person isn’t here, but saying the words “Actually, you’re incorrect,” takes so much courage for an HSP to do that. Terrified of stepping on someone’s toes, even if they are absolutely incorrect. I mean, the traits exist.
Kim: Yes. And like you mentioned, it’s this survival mechanism in us. So that fear comes from not wanting to rock the boat, wanting to keep ourselves, safe and kind of protect ourselves. So yeah, it’s that dynamic. I want to be seen. I want to be heard. I want you to know what I’m thinking and feeling, but I also don’t want to put myself in danger.
Dr. Sandra: Yeah, I think that phrase, don’t kill a messenger. That messenger was highly sensitive, no doubt about it.
But in terms of education, I mentioned Dr. Michael Pluess in the UK. He and his team with the Sensitivity Research Center are doing all kinds of research. I mean, there are all kinds of quantitative research with the F MRIs and all of it, and they now have new scales and assessments they’re using. I think for me, I’m going to back up for a moment and I’m going to say I wish that there were the 12 questions in every doctor’s office, every pediatrician's office, where we could just say as part of the check-in the wellness, Hey, let’s see where you are on this scale.
Okay, well, that’s interesting because according to your responses, this might indicate that you’re highly sensitive. Here’s a pamphlet about that trait. It’s a biological trait. It’s a phenotype and a genotype. It’s biological, and if you’d like to have some more conversations about it, here’s an expert that can help you. I mean, I would have those in every doctor’s office. I would have that in the pre-questionnaires even so that when they got to the doctor’s office, the doctor would be like, oh, I’ve got an HSP here. So that tells me right there that my dosage might need to be different.
Kim: Yes, biologically we have differences as well.
Dr. Sandra: Yes.
Kim: Such a great point.
Dr. Sandra: And if we had that in schools where we could have, and it's a range environmental sensitivity, we're all on that range. But if we have kids who say, yes, I identify with this, yes, this matches me. Could we not have the orchid crew once a week or even once a month that has lunch with Dr. Clifton and talks about what it’s like to be at school as a sensitive kiddo.
That could change and save lives? I really am convinced of that. And when I’m waking up on a Sunday morning and reading about a 10-year-old who in Virginia who hasn’t made it to me, the reason why I’m on the planet is to try to reach those kiddos and those families in those classrooms.
Kim: And what a beautiful journey to do it at that point in their lives too. Those informative years where they’re getting the sense that there’s something different about them and they don’t quite know what it is, but to have an avenue for them to see, oh, this is just how I was born. This is how I can use it. This is how I can love that part of myself or nurture that part of myself.
If we leave it to our society, especially the way it is now, it’s tough. I mean, that’s the age when I feel like a lot of my clients start to doubt themselves. That’s when I started doubting myself. And it kind of severs you from your purpose in life and your gifts, because I feel like it sends you on this trajectory where you’re trying so hard to be different, be better, be stronger, be all the things that our society deems positive when we’re just called to be ourselves.
Dr. Sandra: Everything you just said is in Anne Frank's diary. She talks about her perfect sister and how she wishes she could be quiet and good, but she’s called Ms. Quack Quack, and she feels like the teachers don’t like her, and she has all these thoughts. And her dad, after he made it through the Holocaust and he’s looking at these diary entries, he said, I never really knew my daughter. I had no clue. All of these thoughts and feelings were racing through her and the way she internalized what the world wanted and expected from her. But she was still able to work so diligently on that journal. It’s incredible.
Kim: And what a gift for humanity.
Dr. Sandra: But she had huge amounts of self-loathing and self-criticism and doubt and self-hatred, really riddled all the way through that diary.
Kim: Yeah, I think a lot of us can empathize with that or have gone through something similar. It’s such a shame because there’s so much that we can do with our gifts and that should be our focus. So, what’s your sense about the hardest part about sensitivity for you or what you see in your research and what you do?
Dr. Sandra: I will go back to medicine. It’s hard enough to be more in the, I know this is antiquated now. They say it’s like the dandelions, the tulips, and the orchids. But I say that there’s iris in there, and there’s other things in there, of course, because on the spectrum. But I really do feel like, and my research bore this out, that the misdiagnosis of all kinds of conditions, that’s why I really do wish that this could be that 12 items checklist could be in doctor’s offices and doctors and physicians could know about this because they’re medicating our kids and other individuals and diagnosing, and I’m going to be honest, I really came down hard on psychiatrists.
The fact that they do not know about this trait of temperament, and then they prescribe or they diagnose bipolar or whatever it is. So many roots of what sensitivity is. Go back to those, as you said, those early days. And then in order to try to fit into the world, people contort who they are and mask and hide and self-medicate. And then we get into a whole other landscape
Kim: That causes so many more problems down the line.
Dr. Sandra: Yes. So the eating disorders, the abuse, the substance abuse was huge. The dropping out, disappearing, and suicide attempts all were just across the board. And depression, of course, and anxiety we're across the board for the themes in my work, because I was interviewing 13 adults who were looking back, but who had only gotten through those experiences and into adulthood by finding ways to cope.
So, I guess you said, what’s the heart? I think your question was what’s the heart of what we could do? I do think that doctor’s offices and classrooms need a way for us to identify and then support the highly sensitive soul so that it isn’t called something else. In fact, there’s a lot of things on TikTok and Instagram and stuff where people are out there saying, if you’re like this, this and this and this and this, you have this. And I’m like, well, guess what it goes deeper. My sensitivity may be at the root because it’s 20 to 3% of the population.
Kim: So, while they may be, yes, I’m anxious, or I’m struggling with depression, that’s not the root. The root is you might not have fully understood or accepted or yourself and your high sensitivity, and you may have this trait that you can really work with.
Dr. Sandra: So high conscientiousness is part of being highly sensitive. Often, usually, well, if you’re super conscientious and someone sees you going back, I did the other day, like two football fields to make sure my car was locked, I’d be like, yes. Are you okay with things? Well, I’m highly sensitive. So not only is it worth it to me to walk back and make sure my car is locked, but I know that I’m going to really beat up on myself. The repercussions of not taking that extra step are going to be something that doesn’t serve me either.
Kim: That you won’t be able to let that go.
Dr. Sandra: So our rumination, it’s called deep processing, but our rumination, it can really also cause other things to happen. Whereas if we say, okay, this really matters to me and I need to take these steps to address, it gives us the foundation to do what we need so that then it doesn’t become a compounded issue.
Kim: And back to your point, a little bit goes a long way. Even just a little bit of awareness of awareness and where this is coming from can go a long way. So, what’s your favorite part about high sensitivity? What do you like to celebrate about this trait?
Dr. Sandra: I was thinking about this on the other side of that. I came back to a mistake in my life yesterday. An old friend called, and I was like, but I didn’t do this because we’re so hard on ourselves. And then I didn’t tell her what happened, but because I allowed myself to say it again, all of a sudden another door opened up in my head and I went, and I heard this, but if you had, this person would’ve done this.
And you know this because of the text they sent after that. And I went, it’s true. So, all of a sudden now talk about the lenses we’re coming full circle. I was like, okay, sister, friend, you were in a very difficult situation, and you knew in your bones you wish you had jumped ship. I always say to folks, it’s better to jump off the Titanic and go for the little baby tugboat than it is to try to stay on that beautiful big boat and pretend that everything’s okay. I didn’t jump off the Titanic. I did go down with a ship. I’ve punished myself for what has it been now like eight years?
And now I know, oh my gosh, yes, you went down with a ship, but the potential danger that you will protecting yourself from if you had jump ship could have been something maybe worse, if that makes sense too.
Kim: So are you saying it’s important to lean into and celebrate our intuition and trust our gut and know that we have a deep sense of what is going on, even if other people don’t agree or might not show on the outside what we think we should be seeing? We know.
Dr. Sandra: Yeah, but what I’m talking about is I knew, and I didn’t act.
It’s been really, really hard for me to deal with that. But there was an even deeper part. It’s like, so now I was able to go to the core of it and realize, oh, the core is hot. I was looking at all these, the earth has all these layers. I finally got to the very core of it, and I went, oh, wow. So even while my head was punishing myself over and over and over again, through all that rumination, I was able to get to the red-hot core truth of it. And now that means freedom for me. I can be like, okay!
Kim: Take the leap. Take the step. Trust your intuition. You know what you need. All right. So, what would you say to highly sensitive people who may be struggling maybe to find joy or happiness in their lives? What can you share?
Dr. Sandra: I mean, I think knowledge is power. While I knew a lot about being highly sensitive before I started my dissertation, now I have even more at my disposal. And I think because we are deep processors and we crave information and knowledge and understanding and all of that, I think empowering ourselves to find that truth, whatever it looks like, and to search for it. I mean, I could talk to you about my journey of discovering that I’m a celiac. Often with us, there’s so many layers and other people are like, oh yeah, now she’s on this kick. And it's to your point where kind of turning off what other people are saying, but also, I think giving ourselves credit for following that thread leading us.
Kim: Yeah. It’s not like, oh, I’m following this and now I’m following that. It’s like, it’s this and that are part of me. I love this and I love that I am searching for answers here, and I’m searching for answers here because we are complex. We are deep thinkers. We do have a lot of layers. It’s not that we’re chasing things. And if it does seem that way, there’s a reason for it. It’s all part of our picture.
Dr. Sandra: I think when I heard the term chaos theory, it reminds me HSPs are often, we can see the bigger way, way bigger picture and talk about lenses. People don’t understand how far out we can go. So that’s tricky because our perspective is so huge and there is a rhyme and reason to chaos theory. Right. And quantum physics.
Kim: Can you explain a little bit about the chaos theory and your understanding of that?
Dr. Sandra: I mean, I think, well, okay, I’m going to go into a opposite direction with quantum, with quantum physics in that things can look still and stable to other people. I will never forget when I saw what happens when we go down. I guess that’s the theme of today. I was like, oh my gosh, things are out. This is a party down there. The further you go down deep, the more things are just like radiating, pulsing and dancing. And it’s like a disco. So highly sensitive people feel and sense the disco, pulsing, radiating while other people see the surface stability. And we’re like, there’s so much more here.
And I also think studying people. I have a whole Clifton council of people, excuse me. And I call on them because when I start to think that the world’s going to say, I’m a little off, I have the people, ever since I was a little girl, I was reading biographies. I was finding the people, my people who were doing the way far out things, who others were calling Mavericks and whatever they were saying about them. So, I think that goes back to the knowledge and the power too, that we’re not alone, but sometimes finding those other lights that are shining takes a little more work.
Kim: Well, I love that you shared that. I feel like a lot of us feel that way, just kind of oddball and out there, and it’s like, but we have the best view if we can see it that way. All right. That’s wonderful to leave on. I feel like that was such a great point. And the only thing I wanted to ask you too is what is some of the work that you’re doing now that you wanted to share?
Dr. Sandra: Oh, thank you so much for asking. So, I have a private practice over 18 years of working with sensitive and twice-exceptional students and their parents and families and educators. I also work with neurodiverse adults.
My Clifton Corner is sensitivestudents.com and my adult coaching practices@sandraclifton.com. And I'm just starting, I was just recently certified in Adventures and Wisdom Coaching, and it's a social and emotional curriculum that really supports the neuroscience of confidence and change and relationships. And it builds on the time that I spent at the Center for Emotional Intelligence at Yale University. But I went from being an English teacher to a coach and then a therapist. And stories have been one of the threads all the way through. So I’m really excited to start working with sensitive students and their families with this curriculum of coaching.
Kim: Wow, that’s awesome. And what’s the goal of this
Dr. Sandra: Curriculum? So the curriculum is that we don’t get the explicit tools to have reframing and confidence and resilience and that inner self-talk, that positive self-talk. And so it’s like 27 different units on how to create and develop those tools with kids and others as well.
Kim: Yeah. So what ages do you work
Dr. Sandra: With? So I work with as young as second grade, and then all the way through high school, college.
Kim: Oh, Dr. Sandra, you’re doing such incredible work. Thank you for that. I cannot wait to see where this leads you. And just for people who want to reach out to you or follow along on your journey, I know you mentioned your websites, but can you just share that one more time so people Oh, sure.
Dr. Sandra: Yeah. So the Clifton Corner is located www.sensitivestudents.com. And then if you’re an adult and you’d like coaching with me, which I love that as well, it’s www.sandraclifton.com.
Kim: Amazing. Thank you so much. It was so great to meet you, and I appreciate you joining.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Happy HSP Podcast. I hope Dr. Sandra’s story reminded you that it’s never too late to stand up for your needs as an HSP, and you can do so with strength and wisdom.
If this episode resonated with you, I’d love it if you shared it with someone who might need to hear it too. And if you haven’t already, be sure to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.
Also, if you have a story to share about your high sensitivity, I’m always looking for my next guest. You can reach out to me on Instagram at @happyhsppodcast or send me an email at kmarshall@happyhspcoaching.com. I’d love to hear from you and learn more about your journey.
Until next time. Take care!
About Dr. Sandra Clifton:
Sandra Clifton is a Board-Certified Educational Therapist, life coach, and former high school English teacher with over 18 years of experience. She has worked with Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence and now runs Clifton Corner, a private practice supporting gifted, sensitive, and twice-exceptional students. Sandra specializes in helping overwhelmed learners and their families navigate challenges like perfectionism, organization, and school transitions using tools like mindfulness, creativity, and positive psychology. She holds a doctorate in Cognitive Diversity, with research focused on twice-exceptional highly sensitive individuals and has a deep affinity for artists and athletes who shine beyond traditional academics.
Follow along with Dr. Clifton’s journey:
Clifton Corner: www.sensitivestudents.com
Website: www.sandraclifton.com
Let’s Connect:
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About Kimberly:
After 20 years in the publishing industry working for companies like Time Inc., Monster.com, and W. W. Norton, Kimberly Marshall left her corporate work to create a gentler and more nurturing career that better suited her as an HSP. After repeatedly struggling with burnout and low confidence in the workplace, she now helps HSPs create careers that bring them lots of purpose, meaning, and joy. With the Happy HSP Podcast, Kimberly hopes to shed more light on the reality of living with high sensitivity and inspire more HSPs to embrace their empathetic, generous, and loving natures.
Hosted/produced by Kimberly Marshall
Edited by Fonzie Try Media
Artwork by Tara Corola