Welcome to my private practice website.

My name is Dr. Nilofar Sami and I am a clinical psychologist working with children, adolescents, and their parents. I have a private practice in Oakland and Pleasanton.

My Approach:

In my private practice, I work with ethnically diverse children and adolescents ages 2 – 12 years old and their parents. I believe that parents are their child’s first and lifelong teachers and are the experts on their child’s behaviors. To ensure that parents feel confident supporting their child outside of therapy sessions, I often have parents of younger children (2-12 years old) participate in sessions while their child learns and practices new skills.

I am collaborative and practical in working with children and families. I integrate an attachment based and developmentally supportive approach with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help children and adolescents learn and practice new skills, including emotion regulation strategies. For kids with OCD or phobias, I use Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). In addition, I provide parenting support strategies and advocacy related to their child’s learning, executive function skills, and behavioral concerns in school. When necessary, I also collaborate with school staff to develop and implement accommodation and/or intervention strategies.

My areas of expertise include:

• Anxiety Disorders (including Selective Mutism)

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and Phobias

• Depression

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Adjustment difficulties related to new transitions, divorce, illness, and grief

• Emotion Regulation Challenges

• Oppositional Behavior

• Traumatic Experience

• Parenting Support Work