Together, we’ll slow the pace and trace the threads that shape how you protect yourself, how you reach for closeness, and what you’ve had to carry underneath the surface. I pay attention not only to what you say, but how you hold it: the pauses, the contradictions, the parts that feel “too much” or “not enough,” and the truths you’re finally ready to name.
My approach tends to resonate with clients who want:
- A therapist who is warm but not passive
- Insight that connects head, heart, and lived experience
- A place where they don’t have to hold everything together
Therapy that helps you feel more at home in your own story — and in your own skin.
Dr. Maira Karan helps clients understand how early experiences can shape the way they feel, cope, and relate—sometimes long after those experiences are “over.” With a developmental lens and EMDR training, she supports adolescents and young adults in high-pressure seasons, and adults and couples who want to shift patterns that keep repeating.
Psychological Associate,
PSB 94028172 (CALIFORNIA)
Dr. Maira Karan, PhD
Insight should translate. We’ll focus on what changes your day-to-day: how you respond under stress, how you communicate, the boundaries you set, and how you come back to yourself–and each other–after rupture.
Grounded in Real Life
I integrate EMDR when insight alone isn’t shifting the reaction—when the body is still responding as if the past is happening now.
Trauma-Informed + EMDR
My work is shaped by developmental psychology, including how sleep and stress affect emotional regulation—so therapy fits your life stage, not just a symptom list.
Evidence-Based + Developmentally Grounded
I’m engaged in the room with you—tracking patterns as they unfold, naming what I see with care, and helping you slow the moment down enough to choose something different.
Relational + Present
My Approach
- Adolescents: identity development, emotion regulation, parent conflict, school stress
- Young adults: transitions, pressure, relationships, burnout, self-trust
- Adults: family-of-origin patterns, longstanding emotional loops, life transitions
- Couples: repeating cycles, escalation/shutdown dynamics, repair and reconnection
- Trauma and complex trauma responses
- Neurodivergence-informed care and assessment
TRAINING & CREDENTIALS
- EMDR and other trauma-informed approaches
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Gottman-informed couples therapy
- Developmentally grounded, neuroscience-informed care
- Relational / attachment-oriented therapy
Advanced modalities
- CA Psychological Associate, PSB 94028172, supervised by Dr. Christina Chick
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, VA Palo Alto
- PhD, UCLA
- NIH T32 Graduate Research Fellow
- BA, Bryn Mawr College
Areas of clinical focus
Dr. Maira Karan’s clinical work is grounded in developmental psychology and social neuroscience, with a strong foundation in trauma-informed care. Her approach is shaped by research training in adolescent mental health, which shows up in therapy as care that’s tailored, not standardized–and a clear eye for the patterns that maintain distress.
She works with adolescents and young adults navigating identity, pressure, and changing relationships. She also supports adults and couples who want to understand how earlier experiences are shaping present-day emotions, conflict cycles, and connection—so change isn’t just understood, but lived.
