Medisa Payvarpour, PsyD

I use mindfulness based techniques and different cognitive behavioral methods to help clients identify their values in life in order to become more self reliant in making better decisions aligned with what is important to them in life. I also help clients gain healing through acceptance of the present moment and to use that skill to be able to create disciplined routines to take consistent steps towards their goals by creating inner purpose.

I like providing support for people going through their personal journey facing severe stress and anxiety. I enjoy sharing the skills and techniques I have learned to manage my own emotional pain with people who are struggling with managing their negative thoughts and emotions.

It is rewarding to watch my clients turn their suffering and pain into something beautiful. Often times our minds can create so much pain and suffering by creating negative thoughts that are fear based. When the mind takes over our lives and the anxieties of the future and the guilt and shame and regrets of the past make the present moment blurry it is vital to learn skills to be able to manage the thoughts and the emotions in a way to create what we are passionate about. Focusing on creativity can be a skill that can free us from living our lives through the lenses of our negative thoughts.

I appreciate working with a diverse population. I love working with people who have the openness and willingness to make a change in improving the quality of their lives. I love working with people who are dreamers and are trying to create some structure in their lives to be able to focus their attention on creating the projects that they are passionate about. I do believe that mental illness can create some limitations in life however my work is about identifying the areas of strengths in people and helping them flourish. In the past I have worked with clients with severe psychotic disorders and have been able to help them use a variety of evidence-based techniques to manage their psychotic symptoms in order to live a life that is based on their values. I have been involved in creating workshops for teaching evidence-based techniques to students and psychologists. Outside my work I love to create art-work such as Persian calligraphy, I love to write poetry and play the piano. I love animals and enjoy spending time with my dogs any chance I get. I also love spending time with my family and creating precious memories with them.

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Association for Contextual Behavioral Science