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Navid Zamani

Marriage and Family Therapist

Therapy Practice

I work with individuals, couples, and families who are navigating challenges such as relationship conflict, life transitions, cultural identity, and the effects of trauma. I have particular experience supporting immigrant and refugee communities, including those impacted by domestic violence.

My approach is grounded in Narrative therapy and Solution-Focused therapy, and informed by a decolonial poststructural feminist lens. I see therapy as a challenging space where we can explore the stories that have shaped your life and create new possibilities for healing, growth, and connection. My background as an Iranian-American therapist influences my perspectives, providing me the ability to offer therapy services in both English and Farsi.

My research and clinical work have focused on relationship dynamics, domestic violence, immigrant and refugee experiences, the intersection of identity and emotion, and families challenged with high levels of conflict. I also specialize in working with couples facing high conflict or violence, and I strive to provide a safe and supportive environment where change feels possible.

Private practice information

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
MFC#98297 | $300 an hour

 

I am currently accepting clients in my practice.
Please contact me for more information or
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Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapists

I provide supervision for MFT trainees and associates. I support MFTs who are interested in becoming supervisors by providing “supervision of supervision”, a process required for MFTs who would like to become AAMFT-approved supervisors. I am an AAMFT-approved supervisor and am able to provide clinical supervision for therapist trainees from accredited programs.

I support MFT trainees and associates at License to Freedom, a non-profit serving Middle Eastern refugees who are experiencing domestic violence. I locate my supervision practices within a poststructuralist narrative lens. Due to the multi-linguistic nature of our work, I am interested in an ethical practice that brings language to our practices.

Please contact me to inquire further about clinical supervision services.

Scholarship and Research

Zamani, N. (2023). Domestic Violence Epistemology and its Effects on Couples’ Counselors (dissertation).

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Polanco, M., Zamani, N., & Kim, C. D. (Eds.). (2021). Bilingualism, Culture, and Social Justice in Family Therapy . Springer.

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Monk, G., & Zamani, N. (2019). Narrative Therapy and the Affective Turn: Part I . Journal of Systemic Therapies, 38(2), 1-19.

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Zamani, N., & Zamani, N. (2021). Doing Narrative Therapy in Fenglish . In M. Polanco, N. Zamani, & C. D. Kim (Eds.), Bilingualism, Culture, and Social Justice in Family Therapy. (pp. 39-46). Springer.

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Zamani, N. J. (2020, October 4). I Laugh and Cry With These Men . San Diego Union Tribune.

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Monk, G., & Zamani, N. (2018). Integrating Emerging Understandings of Neuropsychology and Affect for Narrative Therapy with Couples . In Postmodern Perspectives on Contemporary Counseling Issues.

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Training and Teaching

I provide trainings for community partners, Continuing Education units, and non-profit and social service organizations nationally. Some of the trainings include:

-Practice/theory specific approaches to DV counseling
-Cultural humility trainings (specific to working with immigrants/refugees or more broadly)
-Philosophy/ethics trainings for clinicians
-Domestic violence trainings, including practice approaches, genealogy and histories of DV, working with survivors and/or offenders, etc.
-The Down and Forward Approach (a model that I developed to provide services when a family is experiencing active violence)

Please download my Curriculum Vitae (located further down) for a more detailed history and contact me for inquiries about rates and training requests.

Additionally, I was a lecturer at San Diego State University for 10 years, teaching primarily in the Counseling and School Psychology Department. I taught across several programs, including the Marriage and Family Therapy program, the Masters of Education program, the School Psychology program, the School Counseling program and the Counseling and Social Change minor.

The AFTA Podcast The AFTA Podcast

Community Work

I am privileged to work with a highly skilled multilingual team of community helpers at License to Freedom. I support the therapy team by:

  • Naming and tracking our theory/practice ethics
  • Implicating ourselves within broader political movements
  • Locating structures of accountability in our work
  • Negotiating administrative processes that maintain our preferred ethical and philosophical stances

License to Freedom is a member of the San Diego Domestic Violence Council. We are intentional in working with community partners in supporting families experiencing violence. It is important to me to be an active member and advocate within my communities. I provide trainings and consultation to DV agencies in the region who are interested in positioning with culturally/linguistically responsive practices. Additionally, I have been involved with:

  • Refugee Domestic Violence Task Force
  • Treatment and Intervention Committee
  • Men’s Advocacy Committee
  • East County Domestic Violence Coalition

 

Navid Zamani

I am an Iranian-American man who was born and raised in Southern California. I was raised in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, until I moved to Davis, CA to continue my studies. After acquiring my BA in Psychology and minor in Music from UC Davis, I moved to San Diego to continue my studies at San Diego State University in Marriage and Family Therapy. I completed my PhD in Psychology through a joint program with the Taos Institute and Vrije University of Brussels, focusing on domestic violence services and the potential of couples counseling in addressing domestic violence. I have resided in San Diego since 2010 and have fallen in love with the culture, geography, food, and music.

Music has always been an important force in my life. I play piano and drums and participate in San Diego’s music scene. I love swimming, surfing, camping, biking, gardening, and spending time with my family. Reading and writing bring me joy, and academia felt like a natural extension of those passions. My experiences are shaped by my identity as a cisgendered heterosexual Iranian-American man, my access to the Farsi and English languages, and the values instilled through family and education.

I grew up witnessing my family’s generosity. I observed my mother’s commitment to always helping those in need and my aunts’ commitment to supporting students in Iran (as teachers and nurses). I am deeply influenced by the compassion my wife models daily. I bring with me the love and care of my family and friends into my work. I strongly believe my community’s health is tied to my own and am committed to supporting those in need. 

 

Links to my work:

Download Curriculum Vitae
View Dissertation
www.licensetofreedom.org

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