Meet Dr. Ari Shahabaldiny CST(Certified Sex Therapist) of Well Minded Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Ari Shahabaldiny.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Once upon a time, there was a girl whose dream was to become a therapist. As a young child and later in my teenage years, I struggled with depression and anxiety. The way my psychiatrist back in Iran made me feel inspired me to create this feeling and level of hope for others. Since I was very young, I only imagined myself sitting in a therapist’s chair. Life happened, I moved to US over 20 years ago, stepped into my path of making my dream come true and years later, after one divorce, another marriage and two beautiful kids, I attained my doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Growing up in a sexually suppressed country, especially for women, I realized I was pretty comfortable openly talking about sex. I decided to put this level of comfort in good use and started my journey to become a sex therapist through AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists), and after years of occurring hours of education, trainings, and supervision, I finally made it happen and got certified in sex therapy.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always some roads that are bumpy and some smooth. I went through both, those rough ones that make you want to quit, and those you can still manage to keep your head above water. However, it was through the rough roads where I was pushed to my limits and where some transformations occurred. Through my journey, I went through major loss and grief, pain and loneliness resulting from migration, divorce, childbirth, struggles of motherhood while being in school, building a practice, maintaining a marriage (which is a full-time job on its own), and staying mentally and physically healthy. So I believe every struggle then made me more relatable to my clients now. And in the end, I am beyond grateful for all the hardships, every tear that was dropped along the way, and every roadblock I faced.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As mentioned before, contrary to the sexually oppressive norm of Iranian culture, I was always pretty comfortable talking about sexuality and sexual matters to friends, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. On the other hand, I believe becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist required me to be able to make easy conversations with my clients about their sex life. So pairing my innate level of comfort with more tools, knowledge, and intensive education in the field of sexuality led me to pursue certification as a Sex Therapist with AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists). Talking about clients’ sex lives exposed me to the world of trauma. I always had an interest to dig deeper into that world, and my clients with sexual trauma became the major motivating factor to becoming EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) trained. I needed a tool to go deeper and EMDR gave me that capability. I was offered to teach a Sex Therapy course last year at AIU (Alliant International University), from where I graduated, and I realized how much I enjoyed passing on my knowledge and experience.

I since have stepped into the world of supervision and was immediately blessed to meet two exceptional associates. I feel the presence of these two fantastic and intelligent Marriage and Family associates complement my practice and I. I was recently lucky to hire another talent, Deisy. Jenna is a creative humanistic therapist with extensive experience in the field of substance abuse, EMDR trained, and very unique in her approach. Ami-Ray are a non-binary LGBTQI+ expert, teen whisperer, growth-oriented, very bright and insightful therapist. Deisy is a bilingual therapist who complements us with her strong background in working with undocumented survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking. I feel more equipped and prepared with having these three great additions to Well Minded Therapy. We all come from a systemic training with great emphasis on cultural diversity. I had a vision and never stopped dreaming. Well Minded Therapy has became a team of competent clinicians with similar hopes and dreams, to empower clients in making positive changes.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Who else deserves credits? Hhhhmmm!!! I have been blessed to meet super-giving and kind people along the way. Some who held my hand when I needed them the most and who trusted me and helped me grow. I was blessed with a generous mentor who financially and invisibly held my hand when I was a starting practitioner. I can list many people but I am sure this is not my Oscar speech (hahaha). The first and foremost is my mother, who modeled resiliency and to never give up. Then my husband, who patiently supported me to reach my lifelong dream, dealt with my moods, proofread my papers (I’ll be forever an ESL student lol) and believed in me. Another gem in my life I’ll be grateful forever is Dr. Nicole Sabatini Gutierrez, who offered me her hand when I was the most vulnerable and needy of her assistance. And lastly, Dr. Shelly Zavala who I see as my mentor and her generosity allowed me to get on my feet when started private practice. And the list can go on and on.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.wellmindedtherapy.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wellmindedtherapy

Image Credits:
Photo Credit to Saba Anoushahpour