Therapy with Garen
Hello and welcome. I’m an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist offering psychotherapy to California residents who live in divergent cultures & grapple with finding meaning, purpose & belonging.
If you’ve made it here,
you’re probably looking to make a change...
And perhaps the pain you’ve been carrying is the driving force behind the change.
This pain may show up in many ways: depression, anxiety, ruminating thoughts, relationship struggles, numbing, chronic illness, sleeplessness, low self-esteem or any other forms of human suffering.
Seeking out help is a brave first step. Let’s acknowledge that.
I like to start our work by honoring the part of you who knew that you don’t have to bear this pain alone; the brave part that encouraged you to reach out & ask for help.
Slowing down creates the space necessary to be curious about our pain
In the beginning, we’ll work slowly, as we discover where you are & where you’re coming from. I will walk alongside you as you determine where you want to go. I will listen and ask you questions with compassion & curiosity.
In time, you may find that you already contain the potential for healing within
Rather than fixing anything, I’ll accommodate you on your journey towards the inner healing wisdom within you, passed down through generations by your ancestors.
I don’t subscribe to the belief that I will “heal” you. We heal in relationship – I’d be honored to accommodate you.
“Somewhere along the way we were taught to stop feeling instead of being taught to stop what harms us, as though the feeling were our enemy. To move forward & address the harm, we have to feel.”
- Prentis Hemphill, author of What It Takes to Heal
Who Am I?
I’m a queer first-generation Armenian-American living on unceded Ohlone land, also known as the Bay Area. 'Garen' (he/him) is the name of the indigenous homeland of my paternal ancestors on the Armenian Highlands, occupied by Turkey. I’m currently an associate at Queer LifeSpace, a SF-based community mental health clinic serving LGBTQIA+ members.
I'm naturally empathetic and attuned to those around me. I value my own curiosity, and I help foster the same curiosity in others to facilitate their self-awareness & self-acceptance.
I graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies with a Masters in Counseling Psychology. My research focuses on intergenerational resilience, ancestral grief work & the impact of settler-colonial violence/Zionism on our bodies.
‘Garen’ Pronunciation
How Do I Work?
I take an integrative approach, combining Western psychotherapy with Buddhist-based mindfulness practices.
Rather than focusing on eliminating symptoms (including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, poor concentration, etc), we slow down & bring curiosity to these adaptive responses.
We honor that at one point, these responses were highly intelligent, yet we bring awareness to the pain they cause in the present.
With curiosity comes awareness. With awareness comes choice. And with choice comes an opening – a new path forward.
I work within a liberation psychology model.
This model brings attention to the ways oppressive systems (like white supremacy, colonialism, Zionism, patriarchy) shape our lives, our bodies & our relationships.
Together, we listen to what your soul is expressing, all while examining the ways these systems show up between you & me.
I believe that underneath the harmful impacts of oppression lie our inner healing wisdom, passed down through generations by our ancestors.
Does this resonate with you?
Who Do I Work With?
I enjoy accompanying those who live in divergent cultures, and as a result, grapple with reconciling their disparate identities.
I specialize working with immigrants, refugees, first generation folks from the SWANA region, including Armenians, Assyrians, Arabs, Iranians, to name a few.
I also specialize in couples therapy, focusing on queer couples navigating relationship anxiety, who feel stuck around repetitive, cyclical conflicts.
I have experience working with queer / BIPOC individuals with suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, ruminating thoughts, numbing, relationship struggles, etc
Why Am I Qualified?
While my academic & professional qualifications are available on my About Me page, the breadth of my experience is grounded in my lived identities & in my practices of various therapeutic roles over the past decade
The contemplative practices of Vipassana, Zazen, yoga and collaborative inquiry in community spaces have helped me cultivate compassion & curiosity towards myself and others.
Working as a crisis counselor at the San Francisco Suicide Prevention & a therapist at Queer LifeSpace had me working closely with individuals facing the painful reality of suicidality, grief & loss, loneliness and substance use.
My queerness in the context of a traditional, insular immigrant community provides me with a unique lens of walking between worlds, living within divergent cultures, and understanding the human need to belong.
My Rates
Individual Sessions (50 minutes) - $220
Relationship Session (75 Minutes) - $330
Relationship Session (90 Minutes) - $396
I believe strongly in the power of meeting weekly when we're starting out.
Sliding Scale
I offer discounted rates, starting at $140/50 minute session, based on class, financial resources, access to intergenerational wealth & housing stability. The sliding scale system is only sustainable when I have an even distribution of clients across the scale. Therefore, the availability of lower fee spots are dependent on full fee clients.
Insurance
If you wish to use your insurance to help with the cost of therapy, I will provide a monthly superbill for you to submit to your insurer for reimbursement. I am considered an out-of-network provider. Most PPO plans will provide some reimbursement for out-of-network mental healthcare, but I recommend checking with the member services department for your specific plan in advance.
Please contact me & we can talk about this further: therapywithgaren@gmail.com
I credit much of my understanding of healing & wholeness to a long list of peers & mentors, including Khatchadour Khatchadourian, Daniel Young, Phillippe Citrine, Brian Henderson, Mel McCrea, Danielle Herrera, Brandon Yadegari Moreno, Dr. Sherri Taylor, Stace Dubin, Prentis Hemphill, and many more.
I come to this work on the backs of the many sacrifices made by my ancestors. Their commitment to passing on what’s left of the indigenous practices of the Armenian people is the driving force behind my work. The iconography throughout my website is a testament to the resilience of Armenian spirit, etched into the stones of our temples.
My ability to practice psychotherapy on the lands of the Ohlone people is a product of the crimes against humanity committed on this land and the rest of Turtle Island throughout history, from the founding of this country to the present day.