Robin Nazarian, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (150520)

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese (Brazilian). I work with adolescents, adults of all ages, and couples at my office in Hayes Valley. My training includes CMPC, RAMS, and Access Institute. I earned my undergraduate degree in comparative literature from UC Berkeley and my graduate degree in counseling psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. 

My primary theoretical orientation is relational psychodynamic. However, I also incorporate other styles and techniques depending on my client’s individual needs. These include somatic- and mindfulness-based interventions and trauma-informed treatment. For many years I worked as an interpreter for asylum seekers and am committed to working with culturally diverse individuals from all socio-economic strata.

I believe we are always growing, always changing, always becoming. Sometimes we regress and cling to old familiar ways of coping. This is normal and expected. But we can learn to rely less and less on old behaviors that no longer serve us. There are other ways of relating within our reach.

I am a psychotherapist who works in a relational, warm, empathic way to help you better understand yourself, your relationships, and your view of the world around you. From this increased understanding and awareness, you will have more choices in how you respond to difficult situations that tap into old painful wounds. And this is very liberating. 

I specialize in helping people pleasers and those in helping professions who struggle with tuning into their own needs, burn-out, and healthy boundary setting; adult children grappling with the challenges that come with aging parents; grief and loss around break-ups and divorce; family estrangement; and empty-nesting. I also enjoy working with young and middle-aged professionals who are navigating big life transitions and decisions as well as creatives in periods of stagnation.