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Samar Papaie, LCSW
LCSW - EMDR therapist
Meet Samar Papaie, a highly experienced EMDR therapist with a passion for helping individuals work through trauma. With seven years of experience in mental health treatment, Samar is currently a Trauma Specialist – EMDR therapist, as well as a facilitator of a process group, using a psychodynamic and attachment-based approach to therapy.
Samar’s extensive background in mental health treatment includes working in a level 14 group home with adolescents in the foster care system, where she witnessed firsthand the deep impacts of attachment trauma on an individual. She has also worked in a school district, where she has seen the effects of mental health on academic performance and in community mental health with children, adolescents, and their families for five years.
What sets Samar apart is her unique background as a first-generation, bilingual therapist who has worked with clients from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. She believes it is essential to integrate culture into mental health treatment and to have discussions about how the outside world impacts a client’s mental health.
In her work, Samar is passionate about helping her clients on their mental health journey, guiding them as they challenge negative thought patterns, work through anxiety and depression, explore the depths of their trauma, create healthier relationships, and break maladaptive generational patterns.
Samar received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chapman University with a minor in sociology, followed by a master’s in social work from Columbia University. She also received her Pupil Personnel Services Credential from UC Berkeley to practice school social work. In addition to her formal education, Samar has received extensive training in EMDR, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Parent Child Interaction Therapy.
In her free time, Samar enjoys spending time with her loved ones and her pup, hiking, and practicing yoga as a way to maintain her own mental wellness.
