Anita Avedian was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She lived in Istanbul, Turkey, and London, England until the age of eight. In 1981, Anita’s family decided to move to California, where she attended an Armenian school in honor of her heritage and to preserve her culture. In 1995, Anita received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the California State University of Northridge (CSUN). During her undergraduate years, Anita was very involved with student organizations. She became a Director of the Associated Students and a Senator for the student body at three different levels. Through her interest in organizations, Anita decided to incorporate her entrepreneurial spirit with her specialization in psychology.

In 1998, Anita received her Master of Science degree in Educational Psychology from CSUN with emphasis on Marriage, Family and Child Counseling. In order to broaden her specialization and expand her professional services, Anita incorporated into her counseling studies her interest in serving private sector business entities that covered a wide range of industries as well as government agencies. Upon graduation, she had successfully completed two Master’s level certifications: 1) Human Resources (Consulting, and Organizational Development); and 2) Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Anita began her first internship with the Family Violence Project. She worked in a battered woman’s shelter counseling the children and teens. Within five years, Anita headed the Children and Teen’s Program at Tamar House (a 30-day emergency shelter) and at Hope Cottage (a 6-month transitional house for battered women and their children). While at Hope Cottage, Anita assembled many children and teen groups focusing on anger management and trauma work.

During those same years, Anita also participated in an internship as an internal EAP at Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC). Anita coordinated and facilitated workshops in Assertive Communication for the employees of GAMC. She was responsible for providing brief counseling, assessments, and appropriate referrals for their employees. Additionally, Anita interned for Guess Corporation’s Training and Development Department. There, Anita learned the various ways in which a company motivates their employees. Some of those ways included teaching their supervisors leadership and management skills.

Anita worked at UCLA, Center for Community Health, for 5 years. She was an Intervention Coordinator for two different research projects studying the efficacy of structured counseling programs for HIV positive teens and adults. Anita was also involved with another UCLA study that focused on group counseling for children and teens with an HIV positive parent.

In 2002, Anita began her private practice in Tarzana and Bel-Air. As her practice grew, she opened an office in Sherman Oaks. In 2003, Anita became certified in conducting Critical Incident Stress Debriefings. Through her participation in one of the conferences, she also became certified in conducting Thought Field Therapy, which enriches her practice by incorporating energy therapy.

In 2003, Anita became an EAP consultant for Dorris & Associates and provides assessment, referral and counseling services for employees that Dorris & Associates (currently named Empathia) contract. Today, she is contracted with over 8 external EAP companies, and does many presentations as part of her work.

In 2003, Anita began facilitating Anger Management classes. Anita and her partner, Laurie Brumfield, incorporated a new company named ABC Centers for Self-Improvement in 2005, which was dissolved in December of 2007. However, Anita continued her work with anger management renaming the company Anger Management 818. Currently, there are 5 anger management facilitators for Anger Management 818, with over 14 classes weekly.

Anita worked on several reality shows, including the Bad Girls Club and Sunset Tan. She also was a panelist for CSUN’s On Point discussing My Space and teens. Anita has been on several radio shows including Hot Mom’s Club, The Wacky Wonderful World of Relationships, and Shrink Rap. Most recently, Anita recorded live on My Health show, hosted by the Armenian American Medical Society of California, giving pointers to couples for keeping the love alive.

Anita proudly supervises two interns. She feels strongly about mentoring and guiding therapist interns into the field of mental health. Her current interns include Molly Lyda and Rachel Goukassian.

In 2009, Anita began her work with Kaiser Permanente as a Physician and Employee Assistance Program Coordinator. She covers several hospital and clinic locations including the Woodland Hills and Ventura areas. As the EAP, Anita works with many departments, managers, and employees. She offers consulting to management, problem solving to employees and physicians, assessments and appropriate referrals. Anita continues to really enjoy her work with Kaiser Permanente.

In 2010, Anita presented at the First Annual West Coast Symposium of Addictive Disorders in La Quinta, California. She has presented to smaller groups on many occasions, including AYARN, City of Burbank, and Kaiser Permanente.

Today, Anita is very involved with the professional community. She currently serves on the local chapter boards for Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA), California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) and Armenian American Mental Health Association (AAMHA). In addition, she is an active member of the Armenian American Medical Society of California (AAMSC).

Currently, Anita has 5 offices: Tarzana, Glendale, Brentwood, and two in Sherman Oaks, with over 20 tenants in the mental health field. Anita finds her work in the various fields and populations successful and professionally rewarding.