Meet Dr. Jalali
Shahrzad Jalali, PsyD
Shahrzad Jalali, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist (California License: PSY 27593). She completed an M.A. in Clinical Psychology (Marriage and Family Therapy) and received training during her internship in the field of addiction. She further received a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology and completed a practicum training as well as pre-doctoral internship at a child and adolescent clinic, emphasizing human development and stages of growth. Dr. Jalali completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the adult track at several different private practices under the supervision of the numerous mentors specializing in depth work, couples’ and sex therapy, and trauma. She approaches her patients from a bio/psycho/social perspective that emphasizes the role of relationships in the evaluation of the sense of self.
For Dr. Jalali, one’s identity is a product of biology impacted by the family of origin as well as the initial social system surrounding the individual. The vulnerability of the human child can lead them in adopting largely the others’ notions and needs sacrificing the true self in the process; a pattern, which often continues across the lifespan in diverse relational settings impacting romantic and professional relationships.
This failure to individuate imprisons the person in a realm of self deception hosted by a an inner saboteur which gradually takes control over the individual’s life and holds them captive to an unwanted destiny. Dr jalali contents this mindset eventually leads the person to believe they are a victim of their life versus the creator, hence relinquishing all power which may potentially foster individual uniqueness. Therefore what is emphasized in her treatment is the reconstruction of one’s identity through shedding and altering of the collective borrowed notions for personality development in adulthood.
She is a firm believer that personality growth does not stop and is an ongoing process, which if done consciously allows the person to graduate into a flexible individual who can easily tolerate the ebb and flow of life. Her approach focuses on opening up the gates of fantasy and vulnerability to the patient. This practice allows the individual to gradually embrace emotions and create an ideal trajectory, which promises alternative pathways to reaching one’s potential.
