About Me
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Florida, and Texas, and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor in
New Jersey. I hold a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S.W. from Kean University
and have spent over 10 years working across levels of care, including
outpatient, IOP, inpatient, community mental health, and telehealth. I've
worked extensively with complex trauma, attachment wounds, substance use,
co-occurring conditions, and identity development, and I bring a particular
focus to clients who are high-achieving on the outside but privately
exhausted, stuck, or disconnected.
My approach is integrative and trauma-informed, drawing from psychodynamic
therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing, CBT, DBT,
ACT, and Motivational Interviewing. I'm a second-year student at Somatic
Experiencing International and have completed MAPS MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy training. My work goes beyond symptom management sessions are designed to help you understand the deeper patterns shaping your
responses and build lasting change from the inside out.
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LCSW licensed in NJ, PA, FL, TX | LCADC licensed in NJ | MSW, Kean University | Verified by Psychology Today
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You might be feeling...
Many of the adults I work with are high-functioning by most external measures - successful careers, meaningful relationships, full lives -yet privately exhausted, emotionally stuck, or disconnected from themselves. They often describe doing everything right but still not feeling the way they expected to. Others have been in therapy before and made real progress, but feel like something fundamental hasn't shifted, they understand their patterns intellectually but can't seem to move them.
Some are managing what's underneath through work, substances, or constant movement. Others find themselves reacting in ways that feel rooted in the past - in relational patterns, in body responses, in difficulty trusting their own judgment or sense of direction.
In short, if you're functioning but not thriving, that gap is exactly what this work is designed to address.
Shayan Salar, LCSW, LCADC
How I Work
My approach is trauma-informed and holistic, grounded in understanding how past experiences, relational patterns, and physiology shape the way you think, feel, and respond.
Rather than focusing only on insight, our work goes deeper—integrating cognitive, emotional, and somatic awareness to help shift patterns that no longer serve you.
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My work draws from Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing, psychodynamic and attachment-informed therapy, CBT, DBT, REBT, ACT, exposure therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. Rather than applying a single model, I pull from what fits your history, nervous system, and goals — integrating cognitive insight with body-based awareness and relational understanding to address patterns at their root, not just at the surface.
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This isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Therapy is collaborative, direct, and tailored to your specific experiences, helping you build self-trust, regulate your internal responses, and move toward meaningful, lasting change.
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In short, the goal isn't symptom management - it's understanding what's driving the symptoms and building the capacity to respond differently.
Focuses
I work with adults navigating a wide range of concerns, with
particular depth in complex trauma, attachment wounds, and
co-occurring conditions. Many clients carry the effects of relational
trauma that have quietly shaped how they relate to themselves, their
bodies, and the people around them. I work regularly with anxiety,
depression, burnout, and substance use - often together, since these
rarely exist in isolation.
Beyond clinical categories, I support adults through identity
confusion, cultural conflict, mood instability, relational stress,
and what I describe as emotional and communicative stuckness - the
experience of knowing what you want to feel or say but being unable to access or express it. Stressful life transitions, including
immigration experiences, career changes, and relationship shifts,
are also common threads.
In short, if you don't see your specific concern here, reach out
anyway - these categories rarely capture the full picture of what
brings someone to therapy.​​
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Trauma & complex trauma
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Substance Use
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Cultural conflict
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Stressful life transitions
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Identity confusion
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Mood instability
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Relational stress
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Emotional & communicative stuckness
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Burnout