I am an ordained Rabbi and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I wasn’t always a Rabbi. I was born in Tehran, Iran and moved to the states when I was eight years old. I was raised through the public-school system of Forest Hills, Queens, which at the time was one of the more diverse multicultural communities in New York City. It is to that upbringing that I attribute my understanding and acceptance of different cultures and ethnic groups.

By the 11th grade I was radicalized (in a good way) into Orthodox Judaism, and destiny landed me in Baltimore, Maryland to finish up high school. And thanks to my inherent dichotomous, black and white thinking patterns, I felt that it wasn’t enough to just be religious, but that I needed to know everything about my religion, and to know it well. (This is a rare example of a negative thinking pattern that actually worked out for the good-an anomaly that no one should rely on). Therefore, in order to pursue my rabbinical ordination, I studied in Yeshivat Ner Israel for 9 years, obtaining both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Talmudic Law. Oh, and in the meantime, I somehow managed to convince my wife to marry me- one of my more celebrated accomplishments (at least that’s what she says).

By then, destiny (or as I was beginning to call it, ”Divine providence”) was at it again and in 2006 my family and I moved to Los Angeles to serve as one of the Rabbis at the Yachad Outreach Center. It was a great experience, as I was finally able to be involved in and interact with the community, teaching that which I had learned for so many years.

Finally, In 2013, I decided to pursue a career in psychology. This was due to the fact that I had always been intrigued with psychology and its complimentary role in spirituality and religion. In addition, I felt that I need to help people in a more systematic and structured manner (Or at least that just looks good on paper but in reality, I wanted to find out what the heck is wrong with me and how I can fix myself up!).

Most of my work as a therapist has been with adolescents, adults, and couples. I am trained in different modalities, but work mainly within a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model. Not only has empirical research proven the efficacy of this model, but I also have personally seen clients thriving because of it.

For those who are interested in revealing their unconscious content and perhaps understanding how repressed earlier emotions and experiences affect current decision-making, behavior, and relationships, I also have a passion for psychodynamic/analytic work.

When working with couples, I gravitate more toward the attachment- Based model. Couples that avoid expressing their feelings to each other put themselves at greater risk of becoming emotionally distant, and ultimately isolate and disconnect completely. To address this, I help couples bring out the emotions and thoughts that they fear to express to each other. In addition, I focus on helping the partners communicate more effectively, identify and fix the repetitive negative interaction cycles, help maintain a sense of intimacy, promote strengths, and build resilience in the relationship.