Rate Dr. Nima Zahedi

I am Dr. Zahedi, Psy.D., LCSW. I have been licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences to practice in California since 2007. I have my bachelors degree in psychology (1996 CSU Fullerton; Dean's List), my master's degree in medical social work (2002 CSU Long Beach) and my doctorate in clinical psychology (2017 California Southern University; Summa cum laude).

It is very common for people to indicate that they want a behavioral health specialist to "teach me new skills". What we have found is that people already HAVE the skills , but struggle to ACCESS their skills in the moment.

Anxiety, depression, grief and trauma are all core forces that are a part of a normal and healthy life. However, it is common to mismanage, avoid and/or neglect these life forces. I have found that in most cases it appears to be anxiety that must first be recognized because it restricts/blocks access to the underlying emotional injuries that need attention, and it starts with the anxiety about therapy itself. Most people do not like to be evaluated, which is understandable, but evaluation is the first step in the process, and we will both be evaluating each other.

My schedule is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, however, I check my messages daily, respond in a timely manner, and am on time and attentive. All of our meetings and communication will be via the BetterHelp platform, and I do not engage in any sort of dual-relationships. I reserve 75 minutes for our initial meeting and 53-55 minutes for our follow-up meetings, but this does not mean that we have to use all of the time- it just means it's there if we need it. I take notes during our meetings, especially the first meeting, and I encourage you to also take notes. I do not record our meetings, but I encourage you to- just please let me know if you are recording.

For our meetings, driving is forbidden and you must be in California. Please be in a safe, private and comfortable space with strong reception. Additionally, I am on time, prepared and attentive for my meetings, with the exception of rare unforeseen events, so please let me know in advance if you generally run late and/or like to multitask during our meetings so that I may also have the option to run late and/or multitask during our meetings.

COMPLAINTS PHILOSPHY:

Most people think of complaints as bad. I think complaints are a critical opportunity for growth in a relationship. I ask that if you have any complaints about me, you come to me first, unless your complaint is that I either threatened you, made some sort of advance towards you, or suggested you or I do something unethical or illegal, in which case I understand why you would not want to approach me directly and would instead contact the proper authorities. If you feel uncomfortable approaching me about a complaint directly, please feel free to invite any adult you prefer or reach out to a BetterHelp success representative and ask them to join us for additional support.

*** SPECIAL NOTE: I chose to join BetterHelp March 2026 because BetterHelp appears to provide the much needed flexibility and creativity that traditional psychotherapy models, insurance companies and/or other telehealth platforms currently do not.

I am in the process of building trust with my new BetterHelp administration. In the meanwhile, the most common reason I would ever decline a referral is because I anticipate a patient is going to complain about me to my administration because I said something that they did not agree with, and my administration is subsequently going to mishandle the complaint. Mishandled complaints impact me deeply. Mishandled complaints hurt my spirit, hurt my practice, hurt my patients and hurt my relationship with my administration. Therefore, I am focused on building a healthy trust with my administration before I take the added risks I perceive in certain cases.