Staff

 Medical Director 

Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist

Dr. Mark Sakran was born and raised in Fairfax, Va. He received his Bachelors of Science in Biology from George Mason University and obtained his Doctorate in Medicine from The University of Saint Eustatius School of Medicine. He completed his General Adult Psychiatry residency at Hennepin-Regions Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota and his Child and Adolescent Psychiatry sub-specialty training at Georgetown.

Dr. Sakran enjoys working with families and strives to thoroughly understand the needs of each of his clients. He approaches treatment by focusing not just on the individual, but rather by working closely with all those involved in his patients’ lives to create a personal and effective treatment plan unique to each client. He has extensive training and experience in treating a wide array of disorders including ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, OCD, Bipolar, anxiety and depressive disorders. He does individualized parent coaching sessions for infants and toddlers, as well as offers assessments and second opinion evaluations of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Sakran always cautiously weighs the risks vs. benefits of utilizing medications, and only does so when necessary to support other nonpharmacologic interventions.

 Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist

Dr. Ashnoo Nanavati was born and raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She received double Bachelor’s degrees in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies (B.S.) and Neuroscience (B.A.) from The University of Southern California. Dr. Nanavati attended Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed her adult psychiatry residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She then completed her child and adolescent fellowship at Medstar-Georgetown University Hospital. 

 Dr. Nanavati employs a warm, compassionate, strength-focused approach in her practice, recognizing the importance of building strong therapeutic relationships. She utilizes a collaborative and integrative method of treatment, working closely with patients, their families, schools, therapists, and other treatment providers to ensure comprehensive care. Her emphasis on a holistic, patient-centered, and evidence-based methodology allows her to tailor treatment plans to meet the unique needs of each individual.. She is dedicated to empowering her patients and promoting long-term well-being.

  Dr. Nanavati also has experience in the NIMH's Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service and a special interest in working with individuals with developmental disorders and autism. 

She primarily offers care through virtual appointments, with in-person visits intermittently available, and is licensed to practice in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Nebraska. Currently, Dr. Nanavati serves as volunteer faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). 

Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist

 Dr. Cimolai was born and raised in Italy. She graduated with honors from the University of Milan-Bicocca Medical School, Italy, before moving to the United States for specialty training. She completed her General Adult Psychiatry Residency at HCMC-Regions Hospital in Minnesota and her fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Children's National Medical Center, George Washington University. She also completed a second fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Center at the University of Arizona and obtained her board certification through ABPS.  Dr Cimolai spent four years as an Assistant Professor at VCU working across multiple settings and is now dedicating to outpatient clinical practice to help with the increased need for mental health services in the community. She is passionate about tapping into humans’ abilities to heal themselves, getting to the root causes of the challenges they are facing and combining conventional therapies with lifestyle changes, supplements, and mind-body approaches. She is dedicated to making a difference and helping children and their families optimize their brain health and overcome mood disorders, ADHD, anxiety and trauma to succeed. 

  Clinical Administrator

Dawn was born in Washington D.C., but grew up in Springfield, Virginia. She graduated with honors from Purdue University Global with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in Addictions. She is a Certified Substance Abuse Counseling Assistant and hold a National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level I and has been working in the addictions counseling field since 2012. She currently works full-time for Fairfax County Public Schools as a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist. 

Therapist

  Dr. Laudan Moghadam received her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland and completed her Doctorate in Clinical Social Work with the application of psychodynamic theories and psychoanalysis from the Institute for Clinical Social Work (ICSW) in Chicago. Dr. Moghadam’s clinical practice focuses primarily on working with individuals to address unresolved issues from the past, better understand the causes of ongoing problems, identify patterns, develop better self-awareness and self-acceptance, and form healthier relationships. She strives to provide a safe, supportive, judgment-free and collaborative environment for her clients. Her approach is psychoanalytically-informed and is relational and she believes in modalities that allow for a shared experience and understanding to be formed. Her goal is to individualize treatment in order to address the specific needs of each client.Dr. Moghadam is a certified integrative trauma and a certified Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) clinician. She works with many survivors of chronic and isolated traumatic experiences in different capacities. In her trauma work, she aims to help clients understand and learn more about their trauma and trauma responses, learn how to manage their triggers, assist them in stabilizing symptoms, and eventually process the traumatic event(s) and learn how to integrate them into their daily lives. Dr. Moghadam is especially experienced in working with survivors of childhood abuse and sexual abuse/assault. 

Dr. Moghadam also enjoys working with first and second-generation immigrants. Striking the right balance between different cultures, and navigating the interpersonal challenges that arise as the result of cultural differences can be challenging. Exploring and addressing these dynamics can help alleviate the anxiety caused by it.

Besides English, she speaks and provides treatment in Farsi.

Therapist 

 Christine received her Master’s from The George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Starting therapy can be a difficult decision, but hopefully it will be a choice that fosters positive change and feelings in your life. I hope to create a space where you feel safe, heard, and understood. Throughout the therapeutic process, I encourage an open dialogue of what is and what is not working for you therapeutically. I partner with you to facilitate holistic therapeutic work that considers the whole being and empowers you to confront your concerns, fears, and any patterns that are not serving your wellbeing.”

Christine has more than a decade of experience working with adolescents and adults in both individual clinical and group settings. At the start of her career, she worked with trauma survivors of rape, abuse, and incest. She now works with individuals working through relational issues, generalized anxiety, mood disorders, life transitions, infertility, and other mental health issues. 

Christine tailors her approach to meet each client’s individual needs, integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT) with positive supportive psychotherapy.

She previously served as a therapist to Division I student athletes in a university partnership, co-led Dialectical Behavior Groups for adolescents, and helped launch Heartwood’s Intensive Outpatient Program. She holds a Master of Education & Human Development from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.