Aria Mental Health Counseling Center

05/29/2026

One of the simplest ways I explain Complex PTSD is this:

An extreme sense of internal polarization.

Parts of you pulling in completely opposite directions, often at the exact same time.

A part that desperately wants connection…and another part that wants to disappear from everyone.

A part that feels deeply needy and afraid of abandonment…and another part that feels suffocated when people get too close.

A part that over-shares quickly to feel safe…and another part that regrets it immediately and withdraws.

A part that craves rest…and another that panics the moment you slow down.

A part that people-pleases to avoid conflict…and another that secretly resents everyone for how much it gives.

A part that longs to be seen…and another convinced visibility is dangerous.

A part that wants intimacy…and another that interprets intimacy as loss of freedom, engulfment, or eventual pain.

This is often what chronic trauma does to the nervous system: it creates survival strategies that contradict each other because different parts learned different ways to survive.

And many people with CPTSD aren’t “confused” or “too much.” They’re carrying multiple survival systems trying to protect them at once.

05/11/2026

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Mother’s Day is often celebrated with flowers, brunches, and sweet photos. But behind so many mothers is an invisible workload that rarely gets fully seen.

Many moms are not only raising children, they are also carrying the mental map of the entire household.

Remembering doctor appointments.
Tracking school emails.
Buying groceries.
Planning meals.
Cooking Whole Foods meals.
Doing laundry.
Cleaning.
Mopping.
Doing dishes.
Keeping track of schedules, emotions, routines, birthdays, forms, homework, sleep, medications, and the thousand tiny details that keep a family functioning.

This is labor.
Physical labor.
Emotional labor.
Mental labor.

And for working mothers especially those balancing careers, businesses, caregiving, and motherhood, the load can become overwhelming.

But this conversation is not only about working mothers. Stay-at-home mothers also carry an enormous and often invisible burden that is too frequently minimized because it is unpaid. The work of caring for children and managing a home is relentless, repetitive, emotionally demanding, and essential.

Modern parenting and healthy marriages require shared responsibility. Not necessarily “50/50” in a rigid transactional way, but true partnership.

Partnership means both adults are mentally invested in the home and children. It means one partner is not forced into the role of household manager who must constantly remind, organize, delegate, and supervise.

Because having to repeatedly ask for help is also labor.

Many men, often unconsciously, still carry cultural and intergenerational beliefs about gender roles that were passed down through families, communities, religion, and society. These legacy burdens can quietly shape expectations around emotional labor, caregiving, and household responsibilities.

But awareness matters. Growth matters. Healing these inherited patterns matters.

A healthy family system is not built on one exhausted person carrying everything silently.

This Mother’s Day, I hope we celebrate mothers not only with appreciation, but with deeper recognition of the invisible work they carry every single day.

And perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can offer mothers is not simply gratitude, but shared responsibility.

04/30/2026

Don’t forget tonight 7-8 pm Pacific time, I am offering this webinar in Farsi.

وبینار رایگان امروز رو فراموش نکنید:
Register here:

https://www.cybelehealth.com/eventsfoothillworkshops/when-the-body-carries-the-war-navigating-anxiety-and-grief-during-collective-crisis

04/21/2026

You can get more information about my work on my website and the following profiles:

www.ariamentalhealthcounseling.com

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/yassi-keshavarz-sacramento-ca/421688

https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/california/sacramento/yasaman-yassi-keshavarz

04/19/2026

For Farsi speaking individuals.
You can register here:

https://www.cybelehealth.com/eventsfoothillworkshops/when-the-body-carries-the-war-navigating-anxiety-and-grief-during-collective-crisis

04/09/2026

Please check out my Psychology Today updated profile. Accepting new clients.

Yassi Keshavarz, Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Sacramento, CA, 95826, (801) 931-8800, Do you feel constantly overwhelmed, anxious, or drained, even when you’re doing everything “right”? I work with individuals who hold a lot together on the outside but feel exhausted inside. This includes pr...

10/14/2025

If you're here, you may be carrying pain that others can't always see. On the outside, the world knows you as capable, dependable, and strong - the one who gets things done. But inside, there may be exhaustion that never fully lifts, pressure to hold everything together, or the sense that rest is something you haven't earned.

You might feel burned out under the constant weight of work and family responsibilities. Maybe you hold yourself to impossible standards - believing everything must be perfect, struggling to tolerate mistakes, or feeling guilty when you're not constantly productive.

I understand the hidden weight of living with chronic pain, chronic illness, or the lingering impact of medical trauma. It can feel like your body is holding memories you never consented to carry - reminders of hospitalizations, procedures, or times when your health felt beyond your control.

And there may be older wounds - childhood traumas that still echo. Whether from sexual trauma, emotional neglect, or years of learning (directly or indirectly) that you had to earn love through achieving, pleasing, or performing. These early experiences often leave a lasting imprint, showing up in adulthood as perfectionism, burnout, chronic anxiety, or the haunting belief that no matter how much you do, it will never be enough.

If any of this feels familiar, you're not alone. There is a way forward - one where you don't have to carry these burdens in silence.

07/08/2025

🎧همه‌ی صداهای درونت حق دارن شنیده بشن —
ولی نه همه‌ی رفتارهات حق دارن تکرار بشن.

یه بخش ازت شاید هنوز می‌خواد داد بزنه.
یکی دیگه قهر کرده.
یکی می‌خواد نجاتت بده حتی به قیمت فرسودنِت.
اینا دشمن نیستن. اینا تویی.
پارت‌هایی ازت که زمانی برای زنده موندن مجبور شدن این‌طوری بشن.

👂گوش دادن بهشون یعنی احترام گذاشتن،
نه اطاعت کردن.

🏡 هر بخش از تو یه جا برای موندن داره.
ولی هر رفتاری جای تکرار نداره.

🌱 مسیر درمان یعنی یاد گرفتن هنرِ شنیدن بدون تسلیم شدن.
یعنی هم‌زمان مرز داشتن و مهربون بودن.
یعنی با خودت دشمن نباشی، ولی رهام نکرده باشی.




#پارتها

#خودآگاهی
#تروما

04/30/2025

I am now offering truama-focused intensives. These sessions range from 1.5 to 4 hours and are ideal for those who:

Want to go deeper into trauma work without long-term weekly commitments

Are processing burnout, chronic stress, traumas, or CPTSD

Are therapists themselves who want a short-term, high-impact therapeutic experience

Need meaningful results within a condensed time frame due to a full schedule

My approach integrates the best of what I’ve trained in, including:
✔️ Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Level 1 & 2 trained
✔️ EMDR (with structural dissociation-informed protocols and Ego State Therapy) - Certified, Approved Consultant and Facilitator
✔️ Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) - Level 1

All sessions are offered with cultural humility and sensitivity in both English and Farsi while also bringing Middle Eastern dance and music to the somatic work and bilateral stimulation.

03/22/2025

I’m thrilled to be presenting at the EMDR Summit, organized by , alongside incredible speakers! We’ll be diving into new insights and advanced skills for using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with different populations, including those with Complex PTSD—especially common among former refugees and immigrants. Can’t wait to share and learn together!.

Register https://www.cassidyduhadway.com/emdr-utah-summit

خیلی هیجان‌زده‌ام که در همایشی که توسط برگزار شده، ارائه خواهم داشت! در کنار سخنرانان فوق‌العاده، به بررسی دیدگاه‌های جدید و مهارت‌های پیشرفته برای استفاده از روش پردازش و حساس‌زدایی از طریق حرکات چشم در کار با گروه‌های مختلف، از جمله افرادی که دچار آسیب‌های پیچیده روانی هستند و این مسئله در بین پناهندگان و مهاجران بسیار رایج است، خواهیم پرداخت. بی‌صبرانه منتظر اشتراک‌گذاری و یادگیری هستم!
#تروما #روانشناسی

02/24/2025