Mission Valley, Telehealth
Kavon Banejad
Pronouns: he/him/his
Availability
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays
License: AMFT
License No: AMFT# 162307
Rate
$165 per 50-minute session
Areas of focus
- Couples and premarital therapy
- Communication and conflict
- Attachment and connection
- Infidelity and repair
- Sexual intimacy
- Dating and relationship patterns
- Anxiety
- Burnout
- Self-worth and self-esteem
- Life transitions
- Relational trauma
- Men’s issues
- Shame and guilt
Therapist Trainings
- Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) Externship — ICEEFT
- Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) Core Skills — ICEEFT
- EFT Triage Conference – Helping relationships repair from betrayals, trauma, ruptures, and high conflict.
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Level 1
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Level 2
- EMDR trained — EMDRIA-approved
Harvard Medical School
- Nutrition and Wellness Coaching
- Lifestyle and Wellness Coaching
Education
- M.A., Counseling Psychology — Sofia University
- B.A., Psychology & Business Economics — UC Santa Barbara
Biography
Most couples don’t come in because they have stopped loving each other. They come in because they can’t stop having the same fight. The love is still there. The way you reach for each other is the part that’s broken.
I’m Kavon, an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at Estes Therapy. I work almost exclusively with couples, and I also see individuals whose relationships keep looping in the same painful ways.
My attention goes to the pattern between you more than to the content of what you’re fighting about. With individuals, I also use EMDR when the nervous system is holding onto something talking alone can’t reach.
I’l ask about how you sleep, who you spend time with, and how much real conversation you make room for in a given week. Those things are almost always connected to why you’re here.
Most of our time is spent below the surface of the fight. We’re looking for the loop the two of you keep getting pulled into, the one you can’t quite see from inside it. If I see you working around the real thing, I’ll name it. Once we can see it clearly together, it starts losing its hold.
If you’re tired of the same fight, that’s where we start.
Under Supervision by Estes Therapy Founder, Jennine Estes, LMFT #47653
Get to Know Marriage Therapist Kavon Banejad
When did you decide to go into Marriage and Family Therapy?
I’ve had a deep interest in psychology since I was a kid, and I studied it in undergrad alongside business. Then I spent the next decade or so as an entrepreneur, living abroad and building businesses. It wasn’t until I came back during COVID and spent a couple years working in the family business that I realized it wasn’t the work I was meant to do. A retreat I went on gave me the final push, and I enrolled in a master’s program shortly after.
Do you have advice for someone who is considering counseling?
The best work I see with couples usually happens before things are really broken. By the time resentment has built up in layers, there’s more to dig through. Both are workable, but if you’re curious about therapy, that’s usually enough of a reason to come in.
What would you say to someone who is nervous about setting up their first counseling session with you?
That’s completely normal, and I’d honestly be a little surprised if you weren’t nervous. You’re about to sit with a stranger and talk about the most personal parts of your relationship. Here’s what I can tell you: I’m not here to judge you or take sides. I’m direct, but always grounded in warmth and compassion. My job is to help you and your partner slow down and see what’s really going on between you, and to do it in a way that doesn’t make it feel heavier than it needs to.
Do you have a special area you focus on within the therapy field?
I work almost exclusively with couples, and I also see individuals whose relationships keep following the same painful pattern. I’m trained in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) and the Gottman Method, which means I’m looking at the patterns underneath your arguments, not just the content of what you’re fighting about. Most couples come in thinking the problem is the dishes or the in-laws or the money. It’s almost never about that. It’s about one person feeling unseen and the other feeling like nothing they do is enough. I help couples slow down the fight and name what’s really happening so they can actually reach each other again.
How do you pass your time when you are not working with clients?
You can usually find me in the kitchen tweaking a recipe, at the beach, doing yoga, or on a long hike. When I can swing it, I’m road tripping, camping, or snowboarding. I’m happiest when I’m active, so I usually keep moving. Beyond that, I’m spending time with the people I care about.
If you were not a therapist, what would you be doing?
Something in nutrition or lifestyle medicine. How you eat, move, and live shows up in how you feel, and in how you show up for your partner. I’ve spent years exploring that in my own life and still care about it deeply. If I weren’t sitting across from couples helping them fight better, I’d probably be helping people from that angle instead. My friends will tell you I’m already doing it anyway.
