Complex Trauma Care for Highly-Motivated Adults in Maryland.

Online EMDR & IFS therapy for high-achievers carrying childhood trauma and navigating demanding careers.

Generational Cycle Breakers

Trailblazers who’ve decided ‘the trauma stops with me’ and are rewriting family stories.

Who I Work With

Neurodivergent Innovators & Creatives

AuDHD tech & creative minds navigating masking fatigue & burnout.

Helpers & Healers with Compassion Fatigue

Therapists, nurses, first-responders, and other caretakers carrying vicarious trauma, burnout, and guilt for needing help themselves

Professional Women with Impostor Syndrome

High‑performing leaders who fear being 'found out' despite successes.

High‑Achiever 1st- & 2nd‑Gen Immigrants

Perfectionists balancing success and self‑acceptance while honoring cultural roots.

SPECIALIZED SERVICES

  • EMDR and IFS—including pre-verbal trauma processing—to heal low self-esteem, anxiety, shame/guilt, people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, and relational challenges. Click here to learn more.

  • Autism/ADHD-adapted protocols with sensory-smart pacing and executive-function support. Click here to learn more.

  • Work on relational injuries, insecure attachment, fear of rejection/abandonment, boundary challenges & trust issues—individual & couples therapy. Click here to learn more.

  • Support for burnout, moral injury, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue—stabilization, processing, integration, and meaning-making practices. Click here to learn more.

Hi, I’m Afa

I’ll help you turn survival patterns into life-affirming growth.

Most people who find me already know where they’re stuck. They’re introspective and self-aware. They’ve read the books, tried the apps, maybe seen a therapist before but nothing has felt solid or lasting yet. They’re ready to dig deeper and address the roots of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or relationship pain.

In our work, we’ll gently trace how earlier experiences and relationships still impact you today. Going beyond talk alone, we’ll use proven, neurobiologically informed methods—EMDR, parts-work (Internal Family Systems), and mindfulness-based tools—to calm the nervous system and let outdated stories you believe about yourself fade into the past. Along the way, you’ll master emotion regulation, soften harsh self-talk, release chronic stress, and build relationships that feel safe and nourishing.

I’m a first-generation immigrant, a generational cycle breaker in my family, and a former humanitarian-aid worker who has lived and worked around the globe. Moving among cultures taught me curiosity, openness, and how to make people feel at home—skills I now bring to therapy. Whatever background you come from, you’ll have a warm, judgment-free space to show up exactly as you are.

Afa Alizada, LCPC, NCC

1. Human Connection First

Warmth, empathy, and genuine partnership are the strongest predictors of progress in therapy. In an AI-fueled world, we build a trusting human connection before anything else.

4. Cultural & social-justice lens

Mental health doesn’t exist outside sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, or other forms of oppression. We name those forces, honor survival strategies, and avoid pathologizing you for adapting to an unjust system.

2. Safety-paced trauma work

I follow the three-phase model— stabilization → processing → integration—so we move at a pace your nervous system can handle.

3. Body-focused, evidence-based

EMDR, IFS parts work, mindful movement, and other somatic tools reach the nervous system where talk alone can’t—and prevent re-traumatizing “story-telling.”

5. Structured yet flexible

We co-design clear goals and milestones, then adjust session-to-session to meet you where you are.

MY APPROACH

6. Gentle challenge, real change

I respect your autonomy while offering nudges and practical experiments that turn insight into everyday relief and growth.

Tired of feeling stuck in survival mode?

  • You have a hard time focusing. It feels like your brain is in a fog. Finishing tasks and getting through your day seems like an uphill battle.

  • Your emotions are unpredictable and difficult to manage. One minute you’re okay and the next you’re hit with a wave of emotions, struggling to stay afloat and cope.

  • You zone out a lot or feel numb. Most days you’re checked out or feel empty, struggling to stay present and experience joy.

  • You’re on edge and on the lookout for what could go wrong. Your mind is constantly churning with all the worst-case scenarios, making it difficult to relax or get a good night’s sleep.

  • You struggle with shame, guilt, or low self-worth. Despite your successes and accomplishments, you feel like an impostor and worry about being “found out.”

  • You have a hard time setting boundaries and expressing your needs. You people-please, over-give, or struggle to communicate your needs and boundaries in relationships to avoid rejection or abandonment.

Your relationships are unsatisfying or unstable

  • Trust issues. You find it hard to fully trust people or believe your relationships are secure.

  • Constant need for reassurance. You need a lot of reassurance from others to feel valued and loved.

  • Fear of getting too close. Although you crave intimacy and connection, you find yourself pulling away or shutting down when things get intimate.

  • Fear of abandonment or rejection. You find it hard to talk openly about emotional needs or set healthy boundaries, fearing it might push people away.

  • On-and-off relationships. You might have a pattern of breaking up and getting back together with romantic interests, creating a sense of unpredictability and anxiety.

  • Overdependence: You might find it difficult to self-soothe during emotional distress without relying heavily on your partner for comfort.

  • Avoiding or struggling to resolve conflicts: You may struggle with resolving relationship issues, fearing it might lead to a breakup.

  • Sensitivity to criticism: You may get defensive or feel very sensitive to any perceived criticism or negativity from romantic partners.

You’re ready for deep healing.

If you're here, you’re likely very insightful and might have read self-help books or given talk therapy a shot. You might have received diagnoses like depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, or borderline personality disorder, or taken antidepressants and other medications. Yet, nothing seems to have worked. You might wonder, "What's missing? Am I beyond help?" You're not. It's likely that what you have tried so far hasn't tackled the real root of your problems: unresolved trauma. Trauma, especially complex trauma (also known as C-PTSD), can often look like many other mental health issues but needs a different approach.

Take a Breath. You’ve come to the Right Place.

Hi, I’m Afa

Afa Alizada, M.Ed., LGPC, NCC

I’ll help you go from barely surviving to truly thriving.

 Clients often come to me with a pretty good sense of why they feel stuck and what's keeping them that way. They've given a bunch of things a shot in their journey for a more fulfilling life, but nothing has quite stuck for the long haul.

 Together, we’ll explore and unpack how past events and/or relationships might be getting in the way of living the life you want. I especially enjoy working with folks who are motivated to do deep work and are open to “non-traditional” therapies (including EMDR, parts work or Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, and so on).

I’ll help you learn to understand and regulate your emotions, recognize and replace negative self-talk and beliefs that keep you down, develop coping skills to manage stress and anxiety, and build skills for healthy and nourishing relationships.

 My approach is warm, relatable, evidence-based, and practical. Having lived and worked across different cultures, I make it a point to create a judgment-free and welcoming space for you to show up exactly as you are.

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Services

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