About Negar Khaefi, MFT

Anxiety and Trauma Specialist | EMDR Practitioner | Clinical Supervisor

Ph: 323-638-4152 | negarkhaefi@gmail.com

I specialize in helping those with traumatic backgrounds of all kinds; emotional abuse, sexual violation,  physical abuse, domestic violence, severe humiliation and the loss of a loved one just to name a few.  Additionally, I am trained by the Behavioral Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) in the treatment of OCD and work with all anxiety disorders including Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Phobia and debilitating daily anxiety.

Whether you are dealing with an anxiety provoking life transition, Depression, the trauma of loss, or suffering from a severe anxiety disorder, I would love to help.  I have been a psychotherapist for over 18 years, and have specialized training in a variety of modalities including CBT, EMDR, Existential Therapy, Psychodynamic Theory and Behavioral Approaches for anxiety disorders.

I tailor treatment to suit your specific needs.  Many people benefit from a combination of approaches which always includes a sound, nurturing therapeutic relationship you can always count on.  My first priority as a therapist is to help you feel comfortable enough to confront your deepest fears, most guarded secrets, and most painful emotions.

I am also an experienced couples therapist, and have helped couples of all orientations with issues including, but not limited to, domestic violence, cultural differences, divorce, unfaithfulness, sexual problems, parenting, and finding common ground through communication.

Are you having difficulty finding a therapist that is informed about the diversity of adult sexuality and gender?  I am a sex positive therapist, and endorsed as a Kink-Knowledgeable Therapist by the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.  My practices embraces all gender variance, sex variance, and sexualities.

I am available both online and in person.  My office is located on Westwood Boulevard in the 90024 zip code close to UCLA, the 405, Beverly Hills, West LA, Santa Monica, and Brentwood.  I offer a reduced fee, 50.00 initial consultation to get to know you better, offer my initial impressions of your issues, and how I can help you.

Background and Experience

Psychotherapy is a truly unique experience.  This is your time, and here you are free to just relax and explore your internal life. It is important to feel the sense of safety that only a skilled and highly competent therapist can provide. Clinical Psychology has been my focus and my passion for most of my life, and I have 20 years of experience in the field. I acquired my BA in Psychology from UCLA and my MA in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. I knew I wanted to be a psychotherapist from a very young age, and began working in the field at the age of 19 with Autistic children and their families. I simultaneously volunteered my time on the Suicide Prevention Hotlines where I honed my skills in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.

I then moved on to an inpatient residential setting for homeless adults recovering from chronic and persistent mental illness where I versed myself in psychopharmacology, group therapy, trauma based therapy, and addictions of all sorts. My next valuable experience was as a clinician working with teen girls in a group home setting. This challenging setting brought me expertise in trauma related disorders, self mutilation/cutting, sexual identity, and family therapy. Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, LA’s largest and most reputable nonprofit mental health organization, was my next destination where I acted as both a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor. Here I worked with a variety of clients from diverse cultural backgrounds, presenting with severe trauma and abuse histories, psychotic disorders, parenting issues, anxiety and mood disorders, relationship problems, financial/vocational dilemmas, and plain old stress management needs.

My professional path then lead me to become a contracted therapist with the group LA Trauma Therapy Specialists.  There I worked closely with Cynthia Henrie, MFT, an expert in traumatic stress, and feminist therapy. As a result of my collaboration with LA Therapy Network I have developed a unique, and valuable insight into Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender-Queer issues.  Additionally heightening my knowledge of the fragmenting effects of traumatic stress, I worked extensively with individuals with DID; Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder).  LA Trauma Therapy Specialists is one of the only groups of psychotherapists in LA trained enough in dissociative disorders to handle the treatment of DID through specialized trauma based therapy. As part of this singular treatment team I ran an ongoing support/therapeutic group for adult survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

I am a clinical supervisor and supervise MFT interns in a number of settings to effectively handle individuals who suffer from severe trauma and complex PTSD, as well as anxiety disorders and Depression. I have published articles on various online resources for anxiety and stress. Such articles include information about the benefits of therapy, how anxiety manifests in everyday life, addiction to food, the role of acceptance and forgiveness in relationships, self esteem, and panic attacks.

Being Iranian American and bicultural, I provide special insight into immigrant family dynamics, and the issues of immigrant or first generation children assimilating to a new culture. I speak and provide services in Farsi, as well as provide consultation to other mental health professionals on providing culturally sensitive psychotherapy to Iranian/Iranian American individuals, couples, and families.

Therapy Approach

I believe in creating a unique therapeutic sketch for each client, and use many different types of theoretical orientations. From CBT to Client Centered, logical to emotional, I try and get to know how you tick and develop my approach from there. In most cases I emphasize Practice makes Perfect, Freedom of Choice, and a Genuine, Collaborative Therapist/Client Relationship. In more detail:

A Genuine and Collaborative Client/Therapist Relationship: My priority is to offer you a strong and meaningful therapeutic relationship. My goal is to create a nonjudgmental, nurturing alliance, while simultaneously fostering authenticity and sincerity. I am knowledgeable, well versed in treatment approaches and issues. At the same time I place great importance on seeing the palate that you, the client, uses to paint the world. Our sessions are as important to me as they are to you, and I encourage you to openly discuss your reactions to them.

Freedom of Choice: Once we discover our patterns and their origins, we can begin to illuminate new approaches to life, new ways to be. We don’t have to be stuck, so we start to make better decisions. I believe that we all have choices in life, but that we do not always see them. Therapy can illuminate choices that were before hidden.

Practice makes perfect: It is not easy to learn to think, feel or behave differently than we already do. This is why we need to practice new approaches to life just as we would practice the piano. Therapy is work, in and out of sessions.  This is particularly true when working with the Anxiety Disorders which require a behavioral therapeutic approach.