Get to Know Me

Hey there,

I’m Nava Narayani. I work as a psychotherapist to help adult individuals and people in relationship live better lives with fuller hearts and honest speech. I do this by offering a safe (enough) space for people to unravel, unveil, and understand themselves and their loved ones.

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As a therapist, I will stick with you through the psychological mess, confusion, grit, rage, pain, overwhelm, grief, you name it! I think of therapy as a space to research yourself with curiosity, to practice tangible social/emotional/relational tools, to be known and understood, and to have someone on your side.  By the end of our therapeutic journey, my hope is for you to feel more embodied, authentic, clear, resilient yet soft to life, connected, and alive. I hope you navigate your relationships with less conflict, stress, and fear, but rather with more ease, love, and confidence. I hope therapy offers your heart and mind relief and expansion.

 

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A bit about me personally,

Through fate or will, as a young adult I decided I would dedicate part of my life to the healer’s path. The modality has shifted throughout the years, and currently it has landed in the realm of psychotherapy. I have been fascinated by the human experience, both individually and relationally and it nurtures my heart and mind to be there for others in the journey.

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Part of why I chose become a psychotherapist is because I had too many therapist fail to support me that I no longer trusted them to do so. They struggled to connect with me when I was shut down, didn’t make me feel safe, didn’t know how to be stick with me and gave up, got too triggered themselves by my story, judged my lifestyle, put me on pills too quickly,  didn’t offer me tangible tools, didn't understand my culture or spirituality.

I know what it’s like to feel skeptical, suspicious, and let down by psychotherapy.

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I’m now proud to be a part of the change in this healing art. My education with Buddhist psychotherapy through Naropa University was an extensive journey into the depths of my own mind that now I can sit with the “fires” as well as the mundanities of my client’s experiences with resonance, patience, clear insight, and compassion. With this background, clients find my therapeutic presence calming, grounding, and safe. My education with Denver Family Institute, EFT, PACT, Gottman (all four are on relational therapy) I am able to offer my clients practical tools for effective communication, emotional regulation, sexual satisfaction, and secure attachment to create nourishing relationships.

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Social justice and human rights are incredibly important to me. A founding principle I live by comes from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship I grew up with- “Respect the inherit worth and dignity of all people.” I grew up in very diverse communities, have lived in several different countries, and been a part of alternative cultures and mystical spaces. These experiences impact me as a therapist to be flexible around value systems and identity structures, curious about generational patterns, considerate of cultural and societal narratives and norms on clients’ wellbeing, and to be respectful and curious when there are differences I don’t understand.

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MODALITIES I WORK WITH

• Systemic approach considers how the circles of systems you have grown up in have shaped who you are today. This includes looking at your family dynamics, communities you engage in, institutions you’re a part of, societal culture, and ancestry.

• In contemplative psychotherapy, I do my best to reflect your mind back to you for you to understand yourself better and self-correct patterns that are disharmonious. Through this modality, we also work to heighten your sensitivity and awareness of how you function and interact with your environment by slicing moments down step-by-step.

• Somatic based therapy integrates the body so that you are using your whole processing system to heal, discern, learn, reprogram, and grow.

• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), is a modality that focuses on gaining skillfulness with emotions. Rather than learning to control or get rid of emotions, the approach increases your emotional competency so that emotions become a helpful tool in creating connection with others, inspiring artistry, and feeling alive and present with your human experience.

• I also draw from Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Buddhist Psychology, Psychobiological Approach to Couple’s Therapy (PACT), Gottman Couple’s Therapy, and esoteric studies.

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FORMAL EDUCATION

• MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) : Denver Family Institute

• MA Clinical Mental Health with a concentration in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology : Naropa University

• BA Healing and Performing Arts : SUNY New Paltz

 

CERTIFICATIONS​

• EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) for Couples level 1

• PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couple's Therapy) level 1

• Gottman Couple's Therapy level 1

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• 200 hrs Sivananda Yoga

• 100hrs Somanada Meditation instruction

• Reiki Master : Usui lineage

• Arvigio Womb Healing level 1

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Outside of therapy, I enjoy aerial dance, outdoor adventuring, creating in the kitchen with dear ones, getting into mischief, and contemplating life's mysteries.