Rate Dr. Nima Zahedi

Being mindful of OUR PART IN THE MESS will be a central theme in our work together. Most of the patients I see show up to their first appointment already sabotaging (e.g., show up last minute and/or late, have made little to no attempt to calm themselves, not prepared, driving, etc., the list goes on and on), and some patients even over-prepare which can also be problematic. Please remember to breathe.

I am Dr. Zahedi, Psy.D., LCSW. I have been licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences to practice in California since 2007. I have my bachelors degree in psychology (1996 CSU Fullerton; Dean's List), my master's degree in medical social work (2002 CSU Long Beach) and my doctorate in clinical psychology (2017 California Southern University; Summa cum laude).

It is very common for people to indicate that they want a behavioral health specialist to "teach me new skills". What we have found is that people already HAVE the skills , but struggle to ACCESS their skills in the moment.

Anxiety, depression, grief and trauma are all core forces that are a part of a normal and healthy life. However, it is common to misunderstand, mismanage, avoid and/or neglect these life forces. I have found that in most cases it appears to be anxiety that must first be recognized because it restricts/blocks access to the underlying emotional injuries that need attention- and it starts with the anxiety about therapy itself. Most people do not like to be evaluated, which is understandable, but evaluation is the first step in the process, and we will both be evaluating each other.

My schedule is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I check my messages most days, respond in a timely manner, am timely and attentive. All of our meetings and communication will be via the BetterHelp platform, and I do not engage in any sort of dual-relationships. I reserve 75 minutes for our initial meeting and 53-55 minutes for our follow-up meetings, but this does not mean that we have to use all of the time- it just means it's there if we need it. I take notes during our meetings, especially the first meeting, and I encourage you to also take notes. I do not record our meetings, but I encourage you to- just please let me know if you are recording.

For our meetings, driving is forbidden and you must be in California. Please be in a safe, private and comfortable space with strong reception. Additionally, I am on time, prepared and attentive for my meetings, with the exception of rare unforeseen events, so please let me know in advance if you generally run late and/or like to multitask during our meetings so that I may also have the option to run late and/or multitask during our meetings.

If you have been led to believe that you cannot force someone to change, you are mistaken. Of course it is preferable when the individual is motivated internally, however, there are endless cases about people who would not have started the journey unless they were leveraged/threatened/mandated/etc., by an external source (e.g., judge, employer, loved one, etc.,), then later become grateful for the external motivation, and subsequently develop their own internal motivation.    

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION:

Not everyone who makes an appointment to see a therapist is pursuing health and wellness. Here are some common examples: some people are just window shopping because they are curious, bored and/or lonely, some because they were threatened ... "you go talk to someone or else", some are looking to recreate conflict and chaos with the therapist, some to seduce the therapist, some to turn the therapist against someone else, some to set the therapist up for failure, etc. Please take some time to reflect on what your motivation is and then ask yourself if your approach is congruent with health and wellness.

SPECIALIZATION:

The school of thought I subscribe to is one that states the following: If you understand human culture and behavior deeply, the need for specialization virtually disappears (Murray Bowen, 1966). However, I can say that in my current practice, I do not specialize in psychological testing, active eating disorders and/or emotional support animal evaluations. I do specialize in children, however, in an overwhelming majority of cases I recommend that the adults be the identified patient. Additionally, although I do not specialize in any particular religious scripture/doctrine/word, I do specialize in the spirit.

COMPLAINTS PHILOSOPHY:

Most people think of complaints as bad- especially the HR department. I think complaints are a critical opportunity for growth in a relationship. I ask that if you have any complaints about me, you come to me first, unless your complaint is that I either threatened you, made some sort of advance towards you, or suggested you or I do something unethical or illegal, in which case I understand why you would not want to approach me directly and would instead contact the proper authorities. If you feel uncomfortable approaching me about a complaint directly, please feel free to invite any adult you prefer or reach out to a BetterHelp success representative and ask them to join us for additional support.

*** SPECIAL NOTE***

I chose to join BetterHelp March 2026 because BetterHelp appears to provide the much needed flexibility and creativity that traditional psychotherapy models, insurance companies and/or other telehealth platforms currently do not. I am in the process of building trust with my new BetterHelp administration. In the meanwhile, the most common reason I would ever decline a referral is because I anticipate the probability of a referral complaining to my administration because I proposed a hypothesis that they did not agree with, and the probability of my administration subsequently mishandling the complaint. Mishandled complaints impact me deeply. Mishandled complaints hurt my spirit, hurt my practice, hurt my relationship with my administration, and hurt my patients during a critical opportunity for growth and healing. Therefore, I am focused on building a healthy trust with my administration before I take the added risks I perceive in certain cases. I plan to reevaluate my partnership with BetterHelp March 2027.