Mitra Rashidian, PhD
Physician Advisory Board
Dr. Mitra Rashidian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Encino, California, in private practice, and a Certified Sexologist from the American College of Sexologists- International. She holds a doctoral of philosophy (Ph.D.) in Counseling from the University of New England (UNE) in Australia. In 2014, she completed a two years Post-Doctoral Fellowship focusing on sexual health and mental well-being, at the same university, in association with the Collaborative Research Network (CRN). This collaboration included The University of New South Wales in Sydney and Canberra; La Trobe University, The University of Sydney, and the University of Newcastle in Australia. The CRN project was supported by the Department of Industry, innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. She is currently an Honorary Adjunct Faculty member at the School of Health, UNE, Australia.
In her current private practice she works with individuals and couples of all sexual orientations, which includes marginalized populations including those from diverse groups with differing cultural and religious backgrounds. In her work with couples, she observes their interactions and remains alert to evidence of unconscious repetitive patterns of communication as well as power struggles and homeostatic mechanisms.
Dr. Rashidian is strong in advocating positive attitudinal messages about sexuality. She believes that sexual symptoms are multi-determined, and are the product of an interaction between the individual and his/her environment, as well as current and past experiences. She also believes that the role of social and cultural factors in the definitions, diagnosis, and treatment of sexual disorders cannot be overstated. As she herself has experienced two different cultural norms (Persian/American), she is aware that these norms constantly shape and influence the client’s notion of sexual normality, as well as determining the goals and objectives of sexual interactions. Dysfunctional symptoms may result from cultural taboos and conflicts as well as from maladaptive communication patterns and traumatic early sexual experiences.
Dr. Rashidian’s hands-on in-depth clinical training and academic experiences have spanned two continents (United States and Australia) and eighteen years (1999-present). Her competency has been further enhanced through her bicultural background, having lived in both Eastern and Western cultures, and having directly experienced the cultural biases as related to sexuality in different countries. Her experiences include both clinical work and academic research in various areas of human sexuality, such as sexual health/sexual functioning, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality, and she is an advocate of sexual rights.
The results of her academic and clinical research on human sexuality and sexual health have been published in various notable and most respected academic journals such as: Sexual Health; BioMed Central Health Services Research; The Journal of Culture, Health, and Sexuality: An International Journal for Research; Journal of Sexual Medicine; Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal; and, The Conversation, Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. In addition, Dr. Rashidian has participated and presented in international conferences such as the World Congress For Sexual Health in Glasgow, Scotland (2009); 1st Global Congress for Qualitative Health Research, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea (2009); and American Counseling Association- Canadian Counseling Association (Montreal, Canada 2007), just to name a few. The results of her research have been published in notable scientific journals such as the Biomedical Health Service Research Journal, The Journal of Sexual Health, and, The Journal of Sexual Medicine. She further has offered and continues to offer workshops in various aspects of human sexuality nationally and internationally. Through years of hands-on-experience she has gained significant insights about the ‘nuts and bolts’ of clinical sex therapy.
Contact Information:
Mitra Rashdian, Ph.D., LMFT., ACS
15720 Ventura Blvd. Suite 520
Encino, CA 91436
rashidianmitra@aol.com
Office: 818-745 – 1014
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mitra_Rashidian/publications