Dr. Ara Darakjian is a psychiatrist currently practicing in Pasadena. A southern California native, Dr. Darakjian is a graduate of La Canada High School. From there, he developed an interest in the brain at UCLA, where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience.Dr. Darakjian continued his studies at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine in Florida. There he cultivated a passion for understanding and treating mental disorders, building a strong understanding of where psychiatry currently stands, as well as its trajectory for the future.Dr. Darakjian came back to southern California and completed his residency at Los Angeles County + University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center, where he served as chief resident of the outpatient clinic.During his residency, he spearheaded multiple projects, including an “insomnia initiative” to make Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) available to the entire LAC+USC campus.He developed other psychotherapy skills by immersing himself in the study of Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), which incorporates a cutting edge model of anxiety and therapeutic interventions.While exploring the psychological aspects of mental illness, Dr. Darakjian did not neglect the biological aspects, conducting research on the effects of a ketogenic diet on cognition and mood in the general population.Dr. Darakjian is passionate about his work and the psychiatric field’s potential to help people and make the world a better place.Message to clientsMany people struggle with problems such as anxiety, depression, or relational difficulties with loved ones. These issues can be puzzling and for good reason: there is still a lot of mystery about what causes and perpetuates mental and emotional problems. The therapy relationship is an effective way to explore and parse out the mental and emotional blocks that make these symptoms and difficulties so puzzling. By observing the mental and emotional patterns occurring in real time and relationally, with a therapist, we can begin to make sense of the underlying feelings driving the seemingly automatic processes that create these symptoms in our lives.