Dr. Karen Taheri is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and Registered Play Therapist. She completed her Master of Arts in Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and obtained her doctoral degree, with a focus in Counselor Education and Supervision, at the University of New Orleans (UNO).
Dr. Taheri is passionate about providing effective therapy services to children, caregivers, and families. She works to create a safe space for clients to explore their concerns, empower clients to achieve their goals and to enhance their relationships on multiple levels (with self, loved ones, and in systemic environments). Dr. Taheri utilizes her clinical experiences, knowledge, empirical evidence, skills, awareness, powers of play, and a deep understanding of the client’s internal and external circumstances to construct a tailored therapeutic plan. She has provided clinical services in a variety of settings: community-based clinics, a hospital emergency room, a university-based play therapy clinic, contract work within schools, and in private practice.
In addition to providing clinical services, Dr. Taheri enjoys providing education to graduate students, trainees, and experienced professionals. She has been accepted to present at professional conferences (local, national and international), served as a guest lecturer, taught as an assistant educator at the University of Malta and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and provided graduate-level (and post-graduate, play-therapy specific) education as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Mississippi and Texas State University. Dr. Taheri has served as a contributing author to several publications. Her research interest areas include play therapy, globalization of the counseling profession, infant mental health, and Attachment Theory integration into clinical practice, supervision and education.