Leda KavehLicensed Psychologist

At Washington Psychological Wellness, we practice an integrative and holistic approach to healing, considering our clients’ mental, physical, and emotional health and interpersonal and spiritual well-being. We consider each individual as unique and therefore cater treatment to the client. Drawing from various modalities and practices, we can match you with a therapist who will understand your specific issues and tailor your therapy plans according to your needs. Our counselors are trained in the following psychotherapeutic treatment approaches, to name a few: Psychodynamic therapy is a form of depth psychology; the primary focus is to reveal the unconscious content of a client’s psyche to alleviate psychic tension. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) refers to a range of techniques that focus on constructing and re-construction of people’s cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. The therapist helps clients assess, recognize, and deal with problematic and dysfunctional ways of thinking, emoting, and behaving. Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a time-limited psychotherapy that focuses on the interpersonal context and building interpersonal skills. IPT is based on the belief that interpersonal factors may contribute heavily to psychological disorders. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) combines standard CBT techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindfulness-awareness. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a therapeutic approach that facilitates and engages the client’s intrinsic motivation to change behavior. MI is a goal-oriented, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Treatment progress is dependent on each individual’s unique circumstances and needs. You and your therapist will actively check-in to ensure that progress is being maintained and that your treatment goals, values, and hopes are being accomplished. We will also actively work with and consult with outside providers, teachers, clergy, family members, etc., to coordinate care.

Understandably, your first counseling or therapy session may be scarier than the problem causing you to seek it. The first session starts with you and your therapist getting familiar with each other and building a comfortable and trusting space together. Your therapist will explain confidentiality and how most everything discussed in counseling is confidential. You are protected by strict rules that prohibit discussing anything that goes on in session or that you are coming to counseling. There are some very specific exceptions to this rule, which the therapist will discuss in the first session. Your therapist will want to get to know you and what brought you to therapy so you can identify where you are and what are some goals or things you’d like to work on together. Your therapist will gently ask you some open-ended questions and give you some reflections, observations, feedback, and a summary of what you said. You may be encouraged to look at things from a different perspective. The intention is for you to feel heard, understood, and the work in session is done collaboratively with your therapist.

• Maryland, Licensed Psychologist, 06035
• Virginia, Licensed Psychologist, 0810006256

Dr. Leda Kaveh is a licensed clinical psychologist and the owner/director of Washington Psychological Wellness, a boutique-style mental health clinic located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Kaveh graduated summa cum laude with honors from the University of Maryland, College Park, and received her Master’s and Doctorate of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from The American School of Professional Psychology, Washington, DC. Dr. Kaveh has always had a passion for helping others. As an undergraduate, she worked as a Victim’s Advocate for Prince Georges County Hospital’s Sexual Assault Center and a Crisis Counselor for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), where she coordinated care for traumatized patients navigating the legal system. Dr. Kaveh’s doctoral education included training at Children’s National Medical Center, where she performed neuropsychological assessments and researched concussion-related sports injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). She also worked in the DC Public School System, providing individual and group treatment utilizing group, cognitive-based (CBT), and psychodynamic therapy. Dr. Kaveh also worked at American University’s Counseling Center, providing both short and long-term psychodynamic therapy. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy from The Trauma and Child Trauma Institute and in the Gottman Method of Couple’s Therapy. She completed her residency and post-doctoral fellowship at Prince William Family Counseling, where she continued individual, couples, family therapy, and psychodiagnostic assessment. As the owner of Washington Psychological Wellness, Dr. Kaveh has a passion for helping members of the Montgomery County, Maryland community fulfill their mental health & wellness goals. She provides an integrative, holistic, therapeutic approach to treatment. She has specialized knowledge and training in individual, adult, adolescent, child, couples, and family therapy and the treatment of various mental health concerns. Dr. Kaveh values honesty, authenticity, integrity, inclusivity, and equal respect for ALL individuals. She strives to promote excellence in mental health care regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, ability, age, health, or other status. Her team of mental health professionals promote an inclusive and multicultural stance to wellness and work with each individual to ensure personalized holistic care.