Wajdi Akef Fakhoury LMFT 148333
Founder, Clinical Director

Meet Samar Neurodivergent Therapy Center's Founder

I did not come to this work through a single moment of clarity, but through years of sitting in rooms where something important was being missed.

Again and again, I met people who were described as “resistant,” “difficult,” "attention seeking" or “non-compliant." Yet when I slowed down -- when I listened more carefully -- it became clear that these were not people failing therapy. These were people whose ways of thinking, sensing, communicating, and relating had never been properly understood.

Much of my clinical career has been spent alongside individuals and families navigating neurodevelopmental differences in systems that were not built with them in mind: mental health clinics, hospitals, schools, residential programs, and crisis settings.

In these spaces, emotional distress was often reduced to behavior.

Trauma went unnamed.

Sensory overload went unnoticed.

Communication differences were mistaken for defiance or lack of insight.

Samar Neurodivergent Therapy Center grew out of these moments. My approach to psychotherapy begins with a simple but often overlooked question: How does this person experience the world? From there, therapy is shaped -- not imposed. Language is adjusted. Pace and sensory needs are intentional. Regulation is prioritized. Meaning is co-constructed rather than assumed.

My work is informed by years of clinical leadership in neurodevelopmental and crisis-prevention settings, extensive training in trauma-informed care, and ongoing collaboration with families, caregivers, and interdisciplinary systems of care. Just as importantly, it is informed by listening closely to the people I support -- especially those who have spent much of their lives adapting themselves to environments that demanded conformity rather than understanding.

At Samar, psychotherapy does not ask people to mask, perform, or translate themselves in order to be supported. Therapy is designed around your context -- not the other way around. At Samar, this means creating a therapeutic space where complexity is welcomed, differences are respected, and care is paced around your unique context, not expectations. It means working thoughtfully with people across the lifespan, and when appropriate, with the families and systems that shape their daily lives.

Above all, I approach this work with humility. I bring clinical expertise to the process, while recognizing that each person is the expert on their own inner world. My role is to help make that world safer to explore—together.

If this approach resonates, I welcome the opportunity to connect to see whether working together would be a good fit.

Wajdi

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University of California

Santa Barbara

Psychology, Biopsychology, Black Studies (minor)

Golden Gate University

San Francisco

Counseling Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy

Doctoral Research

University of San Francisco

San Francisco

International and Multicultural Education; Psychosocial Health

Training & Licesure

California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist LMFT #148333

University of New Hampshire Institute on Disabilities

National Center for START

Selection of trainings facilitated by Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, LMFT :

•Faces of Trauma: Presentations in Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Differences •Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Across the Spectrum •Psychosis, PTSD, and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities •Understanding and Addressing Iatrogenic Trauma in Mental Health •Safety First: Using Trauma-Informed Care to Create Safe Spaces •Pressure Points: Social & Environmental Stressors in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities •Supporting Individuals and Systems Navigating Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) •Developmental Trauma & Co-Occurring Diagnoses for People with IDD •Caregiver Anxiety in the Context of Supporting Loved Ones Navigating IDD •Caregiver and Support Staff Burnout •Rewriting the Story: Discussing a Family History of Suicide •On the Move: Addressing & Preventing Abrupt Departures in IDD Support •Unlocking Possibilities: Creative Strategies for Complex Placement Scenarios •Nature & Nurture: When Parents and Children Have Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities •Leveling Up to Independence: Levels of Residential Treatment •Reconnecting Threads: Strengthening Trust in a Community of Providers •Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Individuals Navigating Autism •Bipolar Disorder and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities •The Impacts of Delayed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Diagnosis •All the Rage About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) •Together We Thrive as a Community: Understanding ADHD with Co-Occurring Autism •Understanding Reactive Attachment Disorder in Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) •Focus on Fitness: Exercise for Treating ADHD •Challenges & Gaps in Treatment for the TAY Population •What’s PERMA Got to Do with It? Supporting Individuals Through Positive Psychology •Personalizing the Building Blocks of Wellness (PERMA+) •Fulfilling Connections: Using PERMA to Address Treatment-Seeking Behavior •The Weight Behind the Prescription: Metabolic Effects of Psychotropic Medication (w/ Ingrid Dombrower, MD) •Navigating Diabetes and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (with Ingrid Dombrower, MD) •Break it Down: Reducing Barriers to Health Care Literacy •A to ZZZs: Strategies for Supporting Sleep Hygiene for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities •Insomnia, Autism, and Mental Health •PERMA V — Six Steps to Happiness •Communication, Cognition & Sensory Processing •Beyond Words: Exploring Communication Vulnerabilities •Exploring Executive Functioning Vulnerabilities •Making Sense of It All: Sensory Processing & Neurodevelopmental Conditions •Barriers to Bridges: Transforming Systems to Support Individuals with NDD •The Power of Language: How to Counteract Stigma with Strength-Based Terminology •The Big “IDEA” — Promoting Individual Education Goals While Maintaining School Safety •Sexuality and Dating Within the IDD Community •Mind the Mask: Supporting Teens with Autism Who Resist Labels •Facing the Unknown: Mental Health, NDD, and Deportation Concerns •Secure Connections: Cyber Safety for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum •Awareness and Support Services in Muslim and Dari Communities •The Impacts of Marijuana Use in IDD Populations •Craving Control: Impact of Parental Attachment Style on Disordered Eating in IDD Invited & Conference Presentations Focus: Mental Health, Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, Neurodevelopmental Conditions, Trauma-Informed Care, International and Multicultural Psychosocial Health •Beyond the Storm: Crisis Intervention and Recovery for Caregivers — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Juliana Hartsog. Autism Society of San Diego. San Diego, CA. 2025 •Understanding Neurodiversity in Hospital Settings — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Juliana Hartsog. Kaiser Permanente. San Diego, CA. 2025 •Stories of Strength and Strain: Exploring Caregiver Burnout to Enhance Care for Individuals Navigating Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Juliana Hartsog, Stephanie Wahl. CA-START San Diego. National Center for START Services, University of New Hampshire. SNTI Conference. Remote. 2025 •Trauma-Informed Crisis Prevention & Intervention: Working with Individuals and Systems Navigating Autism Spectrum Disorder and Mental Health Vulnerabilities — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Symone Pompey. Autism Society of San Diego. Autism Social & Mental Health Conference. San Diego, CA. 2024 •Evaluating the Influence of Prescriber Type on Total and Same-Class Psychotropic Polypharmacy Across Northern and Southern California START Programs: Strengthening Prescriber Capacity-Building Initiatives Around Psychotropic Polypharmacy and IDD — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Symone Pompey. CA-START San Diego. National Center for START Services, University of New Hampshire. SNTI Conference. Philadelphia, PA. 2024 •Inclusive Care: Tailored Mental Health Services & Crisis Response for Individuals with IDD — A Clinician’s Perspective — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Symone Pompey. University of San Diego. Project TeamUP Seminar. San Diego, CA. 2024 •Crisis Intervention & Prevention in the Context of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Including Autism Spectrum Disorder — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. California State Council on Disability. Los Angeles, CA. 2024 •Exploring Autism Spectrum Disorder and Co-Occurring Mental Health Challenges — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. California Society for Clinical Social Workers. Los Angeles, CA. 2024 •Breaking the Cycle of Psychiatric Polypharmacy in Individuals Navigating Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Targeting Prescriber Capacity-Building Efforts in San Diego — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, Symone Pompey. National Center for START Services, University of New Hampshire. SNTI Conference. Austin, TX. 2023 •Providing Trauma-Informed Care: Through Informed Practices — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, PhD ABD; Symone Pompey, LCSW; Lauren Hughey, LMFT; Nicole Alexander, PsyD; Tracee Williams, PhD. National Center for START Services, University of New Hampshire. SNTI Conference. Remote. 2022 •Addressing the High Rate of Sleep Disturbances Among Individuals Supported by the CA-START East Bay Team: Gauging the Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Sleep Hygiene Interventions — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, MA, PhD ABD; Emaya Anbalagan, MD; Sharon Cyrus-Savary, LMHC. CA-START East Bay. National Center for START Services, University of New Hampshire. SNTI Conference. Remote. 2021 •Delineating Appropriately Localized Psychosocial & Mental Health Support Services Across Sub-Groups of Jordan’s Refugee Population — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. Gaziantep University. Global Refugee & Migration Conference. Gaziantep, Turkey. 2019 •Transgenerational Trauma: The Syrian Refugee Crisis — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. Michigan State University, Common Bond Institute. International Conference on Transgenerational Trauma. Amman, Jordan. 2019 •International Perspectives on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Health Care — Panelist — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. University of California San Francisco. Trauma, Memory, Health & Healing: Conversations. San Francisco, CA. 2019 •Delineating Localized Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Services in Jordan: The Role of Religion — Clients’ Perspectives — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. Cambridge University. Global Muslim Mental Health Conference. Cambridge, UK. 2019 •Localizing Psychosocial & Mental Health Services: Syrian Refugees in Northern Jordan — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. German Jordanian University. International Conference on Localization of Social Work in Arab Countries. Amman, Jordan. 2019 •Deconstructing Localization: Social Work in MENA — Wajdi Akef Fakhoury. University of Applied Sciences Würzburg. International Conference on Localization of Social Work in Arab Countries. Würzburg, Germany. 2019 Areas of Clinical and Teaching Expertise •Trauma-informed and resilience-oriented psychotherapy across the lifespan for individuals, couples, and families navigating trauma, loss, neurodevelopmental differences, mood and anxiety disorders, and complex psychosocial stressors. •Crisis prevention and intervention (individuals and systems navigating IDD and co-occurring mental health vulnerabilities. •Family-narrative, attachment, and systems frameworks, emphasizing relational safety, caregiver empowerment, and culturally responsive engagement. •Integrative psychotherapy and clinical training, drawing from CBT, DBT, narrative, expressive arts, and somatic approaches, with adaptations for sensory and communication needs. •Cross-cultural and multilingual practice, specializing in refugee mental health, immigrant family adaptation, and culturally responsive assessment and treatment planning. •Clinical consultation, workforce development, and organizational consultation, focusing on trauma-responsive systems of care, interdisciplinary communication, and staff resilience. •Ethics and professional boundaries, with attention to cultural humility, clinician wellness, and trauma stewardship in high-stress service settings. •Positive psychology and strengths-based intervention, including PERMA-informed strategies to enhance resilience, engagement, and post-traumatic growth. •Program design and implementation across mental health, developmental services, and higher education, integrating trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, and family-centered models of care.