Tatevik Sarkisian, AMFT
Tatevik is taking new clients in California!
WARM
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GROUNDED
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RESPECTFUL
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CURIOUS
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WARM • GROUNDED • RESPECTFUL • CURIOUS •
Meet Tatevik Sarkisian, AMFT
Tatevik Sarkisian is an Armenian-American therapist working with adults in Los Angeles who are carrying more than they let on. Many of her clients are first-generation immigrants or children of immigrants; people who grew up as the responsible one, the translator, the one who held it together for everyone else. They're good at their jobs, close to their families, and quietly exhausted. Tatevik gets it from the inside.
With an undergraduate degree from USC and a Masters in Counseling from Pepperdine University, Tatevik loves helping clients facing big life challenges. She’s great at helping people manage stress, high pressure environments, and quiet the voice of perfectionism. Her experience prior to joining our team included supporting teen girls, as well as people with cancer and their families. In that work, Tatevik found that her clients were mostly talking about relationships, goals, grief, and everything in between.
Tatevik is trained in EMDR therapy and uses it to help clients process the experiences that keep them stuck. For many of her clients, the exhaustion and anxiety they're feeling in the present has roots in early relationships, in the pressure of a high-expectation upbringing, in the moments when their needs get passed over. EMDR works below the surface of what talk therapy alone can reach. Tatevik paces this work carefully, with attention to the therapeutic relationship first.
Tatevik is excited to help you work toward greater emotional balance and well-being, no matter where you are in your journey.
California AMFT #148590
Employed and Supervised by Laurel van der Toorn, CA LMFT #116695
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Before anything else, I want you to feel like yourself in the room. Not performing, not managing how you come across, just present. That takes time to build, and we can’t rush it.
I draw from a range of modalities depending on what you need. EMDR helps process the experiences that haven't fully resolved, even when you thought you'd moved on from them. Somatic and mindfulness practices, rooted in my background as a yoga teacher help you notice what your body is already telling you. And a holistic therapy approach means we're always looking at the whole picture, not just the symptom.
I work at a pace that feels sustainable. Some of what we'll do is skills-based, building your capacity to handle stress and difficult emotions in the here and now. Some of it goes deeper, looking at the patterns that formed early and still shape how you move through the world. Combined, they create transformation.
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Before becoming a therapist, I studied business at USC and worked in accounting. I left that career because I was craving something more meaningful. I became a yoga teacher to share the mind-body healing I'd found in my own practice. That path eventually led me back to school, and I completed my Master's in Counseling at Pepperdine University.
My early clinical experience included working with teen girls navigating identity and peer relationships, and with people facing cancer diagnoses and supporting their families through serious illness. That work taught me something I carry into every session: people rarely come in talking about the presenting problem. They come in talking about relationships, expectations, grief, and everything in between.
I joined Laurel Therapy Collective because of its commitment to clinically excellent, deeply human care. I work with adults across California via telehealth, with a particular focus on first-generation immigrants, young professionals in high-pressure environments, and teens navigating the specific challenges of growing up in a family with roots in two cultures.
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Attachment and Emotional Regulation
BIPOC and Multicultural issues
Cancer and serious illness issues
Depression
EMDR Therapy & Trauma
Grief
Immigration and first gen issues
Self-esteem and building confidence
Transitions
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California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #148590
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My fee is $175 for a 50-minute virtual session. Our initial consultation is free.
If you’re considering submitting for partial reimbursement through your PPO health insurance plan, use the benefits checker hereso you know what to expext. We've also put together a script to ask your carrier about coverage.
Tatevik’s Take On Therapy
Building authentic connections with my clients is at the forefront of my approach to therapy. I strive to connect with each of my clients with a warm, compassionate, non-judgemental presence and create a space where they feel safe to be themselves. I pride myself in my ability to foster this connection through earning your trust, holding space for challenging conversations, laughing with you, and collaborating with you with genuine care.
As an Armenian-American and first-generation immigrant, I understand that the intersectionality of our identities impacts our experiences and how we navigate the unique challenges of balancing norms and values of differing cultures. I approach these conversations with curiosity and support clients from all backgrounds as they uncover what feels authentic to them.
I have much experience supporting clients who face challenges in managing stress and anxiety, and who have perfectionistic and people pleasing tendencies. Many of them arrive not realizing they've been running on empty for years; here's what that can look like. My approach is two fold: learning skills to boost resiliency in the here and now, and uncovering unhelpful patterns to bring awareness to the internal forces influencing our actions.
My background as a yoga teacher also informs my therapeutic approach through the use of somatic awareness, mindfulness, and meditation practices. Building the mind-body connection is paramount in becoming aware of the physical signs of psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, frustration, and burnout. This article on the mind-body connection goes deeper on how psychological stress shows up physically, and why that matters for healing. Mindfulness and meditation techniques, in turn, are helpful in reducing stress, promoting cognitive awareness, and increasing emotional regulation. I help clients develop these practices to improve their overall mental health and well-being.
I also specialize in working with teens and families. Using a person-centered, developmental approach, I meet my clients where they are and support them as they navigate a variety of unique challenges based on their developmental stage. Some challenges may include transitioning grades or schools, challenges with peers, exploring identity (including gender and sexuality), independence, school stressors, career aspirations, and familial relational challenges. As a teen therapist, I provide a safe space for clients to explore their inner worlds and feel empowered to live authentically. If your teen is struggling with academic pressure or a recent misstep at school, this guide for parents on handling teen cheating may be a helpful starting point.
Whether you’re looking for an adult therapist or teen therapist in Los Angeles, my goal is to provide therapy that makes you feel seen, supported, and empowered to make positive life changes.
I look forward to connecting with you soon!
Get to know Tatevik
Before I was a therapist I got my bachelors in business and worked in accounting. I quickly realized I was craving more meaning from my career, so I became a yoga teacher to pass on the mind-body healing that I received from my own yoga practice. Through my yoga and healing journey, I realized my love for psychology and decided to go back to school to become a therapist. It is my passion to support others on their journey of healing and growth.
What I love about being a therapist is connecting with my clients on a human level and developing a therapeutic relationship that feels safe and authentic.
I'm really interested in exploring the intersectionalities of identity, especially those of first-generation immigrants (like myself) who are balancing differing cultures, values, and beliefs from their country of origin. Taking a culturally sensitive approach is key.
In my free time, you’ll find me baking sourdough bread or a sweet treat, hosting a murder mystery party, walking through a garden, watching Formula 1, catching a flight, or at the Animation Academy at Disneyland. I love connecting with my creative side and working with my hands any chance I get!
How To Get Started With Tatevik
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1. Book a consultation
Use our easy scheduler to find a good time for you.
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2. Free chat with one of our therapists
Your consult may not be scheduled directly with Tatevik, but it will definitely be with one of our therapists who can connect you if it seems like it’s likely a good fit. You’ll chat for 15-20 minutes (longer for couples) so we can get a sense of what's going on and how we can help.
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3. Schedule a session
If it seems like Tatevik is a good fit for your therapist needs, we can schedule a first session during that consult. If you like, you have the option to talk to Tatevik for ten minutes before a first session. The first three sessions with Tatevik are a trial and there’s no pressure to continue.
Our Holistic Therapy Services in California & Florida
We offer customized therapy for a wide range of issues related to mental health. Our California & Florida teletherapists can help with anxiety, trauma therapy, EMDR, gay, trans, queer, and lesbian therapy issues, holistic therapy, Enneagram therapy, therapy for lawyers, therapy for young adults, and therapy for burnout. We see many adults, teens, and couples in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles. Our team is LGBT affirming, anti-racist, body positive, and sex positive.
Burnout has become so common among high achievers that many people assume it is simply part of adulthood. Feeling exhausted all the time? Normal. Struggling to concentrate? Normal. Dreading work but pushing through anyway? Also normal.
Except it is not.