About Dr. Lida Far, PhD, LPC, CST
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Therapy should feel like a real conversation — not like you’re talking while someone silently nods from across the room.
I work with adults, couples, and families who want to better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns they keep getting stuck in.
Some of my clients come to me because anxiety or a major life transition has thrown them off. Others are navigating relationship conflict, intimacy or sexual concerns, neurodivergence, cultural differences, family dynamics, dating, divorce, or simply the frustrating realization that they keep ending up in the same place.
Whatever brings you here, you won’t spend every session talking while I silently nod at you from across the room.
My approach is interactive, curious, collaborative, and direct. We’ll look at what’s happening now, but we’ll also get interested in why certain patterns keep showing up, and what might actually help you change them.
Yes, I’ll Listen. I’ll Also Have Something to Say.
Being trusted with the parts of someone’s life they don’t necessarily talk about anywhere else is something I take seriously.
But taking the work seriously doesn’t mean every therapy session needs to feel heavy. Clients have described me as funny, wise, witty, and down to earth. I ask questions. I offer perspective. I notice patterns. I’ll challenge you when it’s useful, hold you accountable when you need it, and probably make you laugh somewhere along the way.
Humor is a real part of how I work — not because what you’re dealing with isn’t serious, but because sometimes a little lightness makes it easier to talk honestly about difficult things.
You don’t need to perform therapy correctly with me. You just need to show up willing to be curious about yourself.
Knowing the Pattern Isn’t Always Enough to Change It
Maybe you already know you overthink everything. You know you shut down during conflict. You know you keep choosing the same type of relationship. You know you’re burned out. You know you should set the boundary. And yet knowing hasn’t necessarily stopped you from doing it.
Rather than focusing only on the immediate problem, we’ll look at the experiences, relationships, beliefs, family dynamics, cultural influences, and coping patterns that may be underneath it.
The goal isn’t to endlessly analyze your past. It’s to understand enough about yourself that the choices you’re making in the present start to make more sense, and you have more freedom to make different ones.
Understanding You Means Understanding Your Context
No relationship exists outside of the identities and experiences of the people in it.
Culture, race, sexuality, gender identity, neurodivergence, religion, family expectations, immigration experiences, and the communities we belong to can all influence how we understand ourselves and relate to other people.
Those things aren’t side notes in therapy.
I provide neurodiversity-affirming and culturally responsive care and work with clients across a wide range of identities, relationship structures, and backgrounds. I’m also bilingual in English and Farsi.
You don’t need to shrink or translate important parts of yourself to make them fit neatly into therapy.
Yes, We Can Talk About Sex
I’m an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist with a PhD in Clinical Sexology, and conversations about sex, intimacy, desire, bodies, relationships, and sexual health are a normal part of my work.
These topics can feel incredibly personal, and sometimes incredibly awkward to bring up for the first time. They don’t have to be awkward here.
I work with individuals and couples navigating concerns around intimacy, desire, sexual connection, menopause, neurodivergence and sensory processing, changes within long-term relationships, and other sexual health concerns.
We can talk directly about what’s happening, without shame or judgment, and explore the emotional, relational, physical, and contextual factors that may be contributing.
Who I Work With
My work centers on relationships: your relationship with yourself, your partner, your family, and the expectations you’ve carried.
I regularly work with:
Adults navigating anxiety, overwhelm, dating, divorce, or major life transitions
High-achieving professionals who are successful on paper but struggling personally or relationally
College students and young adults navigating ADHD, anxiety, executive functioning, independence, and relationships
Neurodivergent adults and couples, including challenges involving intimacy and sensory processing
Couples dealing with communication problems, intimacy, infidelity, premarital concerns, divorce, or second marriages
Multicultural and interracial couples navigating differences in culture, identity, family expectations, or values
LGBTQ+, polyamorous, and consensually non-monogamous individuals and couples
Individuals and couples navigating sexual health, desire, intimacy, or menopause-related changes
Parents and adult children working through boundaries, conflict, or long-standing family patterns
Adult siblings navigating resentment, distance, caregiving, or old family roles
Families adjusting to the emotional and relational challenges of caring for an aging parent
I also offer coaching for people looking for more solution-focused support around career, goals, decision-making, or creating a plan for what comes next.
I’ve worked with individuals, couples, and families navigating complicated relationships, personal growth, and major life transitions since 2005.
My education and specialized training include:
The Experience Behind My Approach
MS, Counseling
Johns Hopkins University
MS, Human Resource Management
Loyola University Chicago
BS, Social Work
University of Wisconsin–Madison
PhD, Clinical Sexology
International Institute of Clinical Sexology
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Licensed Professional Counselor
Bilingual: English + Farsi
So, What Happens in Therapy?
You don’t need to arrive at your first session knowing exactly what to say. Bring whatever is bothering you, confusing you, frustrating you, or keeping you stuck. We’ll start there.
My counseling style is casual, interactive, and collaborative. I’ll help you slow things down enough to notice what’s happening, understand the emotions and patterns underneath it, and connect some dots that can be difficult to see when you’re living inside the situation yourself.
Sometimes we’ll talk about the past. Sometimes we’ll focus on something that happened yesterday. Sometimes I’ll ask a question that makes you sit there for a second and think, Well…damn.
Those are usually the conversations where things start getting interesting.
You Don’t Need to Know Exactly Where to Start
If you’re looking for a therapist who will listen, engage, ask questions, challenge you when it’s useful, and help you understand the patterns underneath what you’re experiencing, let’s talk.
I provide online therapy in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, and Florida, with in-person appointments available in select locations.