FAQ; A Little Bit About Me

✨ What are my credentials? ✨

I am a Licensed Associate Counselor in the state of Arizona, and I hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a Specialization in Clinical Psychology, as well as a Master of Counseling degree.

I got my undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ILL-INI), Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology with Departmental Distinction. I then got my Master of Counseling degree at Arizona State University and graduated with  Departmental Distinction. 

Relevant Courses:

• Philosophy of Psychology

• Trauma in Counseling

• Professional Issues and Ethics

• Grief and Loss

• Theories of Psychotherapy

• Multicultural Counseling

• Principles of Psychophysiology

• Practical Issues in Emotion Research

Relevant Research Labs:

Research Assistant at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

• Social, Cognitive, Personality, Emotion Neuroscience Lab

• Memory Systems Neuroscience Lab

• Parent-Child Studies Lab

• Infant Cognition Lab

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Relevant Teaching Jobs:

Teaching Assistant at Arizona State University​

• CDE 232: Life-Span Development

• PSY 324: Memory and Cognition

• PSY 462: Health Psychology

• PSY 598 Cross-Cultural Psychology

• FAS 598: Leadership & Social Justice

• CDE 430: Infant and Toddler Development

• CDE 232: Life-Span Development

• CDE/SOC 312: Adolescence

Relevant Trainings:

• Embracing All of You: A Dialogue Between Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Compassionate Inquiry (CI) 

• Internal Family Systems Therapy Step-by-Step Procedures for Healing Traumatic Wounds and Alleviating Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Addiction, and More

• Gender Affirmation: Supporting Trans and Nonbinary Clients Through Transition Steps

• Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy to Reduce Self Harm and Suicidality in Adolescent and Young Adult Male and Female Populations

• Great: Gender, Resilience, Empowerment, And Affirmation Training

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✨ How do I conceptualize healing? ✨​​

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​Healing is learning how to hold yourself through hardship. Healing is also allowing safe people to hold you and your pain as well. Not having to hold it all yourself is healing.

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Humans are not meant to go through trials and tribulations all by themselves. Community has sustained us since our inception. Nature, culture, and a plethora of other things have kept us going as humans. In the modern world, however, life looks different different for many of us.

Many people feel lonely and like they just need to “figure it out.”

I am posing a new question here; are you meant to “just figure it all out?”

Or is the issue that you don’t have support and feel alone on your walk as a human on this earth?

In therapy, I am not going to “fix” you; my hope is to show you how worthy already are. As Hafez, the eloquent 14th-century Persian poet writes, "I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being" -حافظ

And together, our work will be to begin to teach your nervous system that this is true. As the 13th-century Persian Poet Rumi notes, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”- رومی

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As Maya Angelou writes, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." Being able to talk through what is going on, and simultaneously working on the mind-body connection helps our nervous systems feel safe again.

Using neuroscientific modalities, you can teach your body and mind that you are safe. When we feel safe, we can truly live. I also integrate Internal Family Systems' parts work into my approach. Imagine that you are a puzzle; each of your puzzle pieces are parts of you. The more understanding we have of those different parts, the better we can understand you, and thus support you. ​

You innately know how to heal (humans are really cool!), our work will be to recognize the barriers, both internal and systemic that are in the way of you being able to create a life that feels joyous and authentic to you.

TLDR: I view healing as a lifelong process of understanding yourself in more depth, in understanding the meanings you have made, and in cultivating nurturing relationships with yourself, and with others. I integrate existential therapy to get to deeper themes of your experience and integrate IFS-informed parts work and Jungian shadow work to guide you back to your authentic self. These practices bring deeper wounds that impact your life to light.​​

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It is my passion to sit with people and understand all of their parts, especially the parts of them that feel misunderstood. I love having philosophical talks, as well as skill building sessions. I am also honored to sit with you in the immense pain, devastation and grief that is part of the human experience. You don't have to do it alone. - Tara

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           ✨ "I want to start counseling, but I still have some questions"✨

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Absolutely valid :). Feel free to email me at tara@tarabarghamadi.com and we can set up a FREE 15-minute phone consultation and get into any questions you have. We can talk about any logistical questions you have, philosophies of counseling, whether or not we'd be a good fit, or anything else that might be coming up.