WELCOME
ABOUT MY PRACTICE
I'm Autena, welcome! I am a licensed clinical psychologist providing individual and couples therapy for people from all backgrounds living in California.
I provide trauma-informed, evidence-based care to clients experiencing an array of challenges, including complex trauma histories, navigating relationship issues, difficulty adjusting to life transitions, anxiety, and depression. I also center the role our social context and cultural identity has on our overall functioning and well-being. I often work with clients who are first- or second-generation immigrants around issues related to minority stress, cultural identity, challenging oppressive systems, and stress associated with navigating two or more intersecting cultures.
MY WORK
EXPERIENCE
I earned my doctoral degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in health psychology at the University of Houston. I completed an APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, where I provided therapy services to individuals and families across a variety of medical, residential, and outpatient treatment settings. Following my internship, I completed specialized training in the treatment of couples and families through my postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System.
Currently, I work with couples and adults with a focus on improving emotional and physical intimacy, effective communication, processing traumas, and strengthening relationships. In addition to my practice, I am a Staff Psychologist in the Trauma Recovery Program at VA Palo Alto, where I provides group and individual therapy to individuals with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other co-occurring disorders. I also work with couples in the Family Therapy Training Program at VA Palo Alto and provide supervision to predoctoral psychology residents and postdoctoral psychology fellows. As an Iranian American, I approach treatment through a multiculturally sensitive lens and acknowledge the role one’s sociocultural background has on their functioning.
SPECIALTIES
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Individuals and Couples
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Relationship Issues
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Stress and trauma
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Anxiety, depression, loneliness
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Adjustment, role transition
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Second-generation immigrants
EDUCATION
B.A, University of Oklahoma
M.Ed., University of Houston
Ph.D., University of Houston
Predoctoral Internship: VA Palo Alto Healthcare System
Postdoctoral Fellowship: VA Palo Alto Healthcare System – Couples and Family Systems Emphasis