About Our Story
Pimmit Counseling & Wellness Clinic was founded over 20 years ago by Dr. Shahrzad Poorshaghaghi. Years later Dr. Poorshaghaghi learned about Applied Behavior Analysis and that her own specialty (Mental Health) had similar building blocks to developing growth and independence in individuals. With that, she decided to grow her company to include individuals that have been impacted by Autism. Pimmit Counseling & Wellness Clinic has a diverse staff with an extensive range of talent and skills. Our team consists of BCBAs, BCaBAs, over 30 therapists (RBTs & BTs), LPCs, and QMHPs.
Top Doctors Interview
Key To Motivation
Dr. Shahrzad Poorshaghaghi
Ed.D.,L.P.C., NCCPresident & Founder
I have been a licensed professional counselor, LPC, since 1999. I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from Iran. In 1976, I moved to England and in 1977, I immigrated to the United States. I received my master’s and doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from George Washington University in Washington D.C. From 1986 through 2004. I worked at Northern Virginia Community College and George Washington University Hospital in the Psychiatric Unit and at the Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS). In 2000, I established Pimmit Counseling & Wellness Clinic. During my professional experience, I worked with clients with multicultural backgrounds from all different age groups with a wide range of mental and emotional disorders. I speak Farsi fluently and have had the opportunity to work with many Farsi speaking clients. At my practice, I have been offering individual, family, couple, and group therapy. My best advice to others would be to understand that change does not come easily, but if you really want to make a difference in your life, I encourage you to join the challenge.
Megan Wagner
M.A., BCBA, LBAClinical Supervisor
Megan has been practicing as a BCBA since 2017, with a focus in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Disabilities, and Intellectual Disabilities. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Old Dominion University, and a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis with an emphasis of Autism from Ball State University. Before joining PCWC, Megan served students with autism in Alexandria City Public Schools as a Special Education teacher in a classroom setting. She began her work in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2016 as a Registered Behavior Technician. Megan has experience providing both in-home and school-based intervention services. Her specialties include early and intensive behavior intervention, verbal behavior, potty training, service coordination, educational advocacy, positive behavior support, and parent training.
Roshanak Safiardestani
M.S., BCBA, LBAClinical Supervisor
Roshanak graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a Master of Arts in Professional Behavior
Analysis and has been a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst since 2020. Roshanak has worked
with children and adolescents ranging in age from 2 to 18 years old who have been diagnosed with
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Disabilities, ADHD, Global Developmental Delay, and
Intellectual Disabilities. Her ABA experience includes working in a multitude of settings, such as: home,
school, and community. Roshanak is bilingual and speaks fluent Farsi. She focuses on teaching social
skills and independent living skills. She worked as a Registered Behavior Technician for three years and
has a lot of experience with 1:1 ABA therapy, especially for children who have aggressive or challenging
behaviors. With her knowledge, she is able to provide great guidance and mentorship to behavior
therapists during office and home monitoring.
Trevor Hamman
B.S., BCaBA, LABAAssistant Supervisor
Trevor graduated from James Madison University in 2012 with a degree in Geographic Information
Systems. After short stints in a few different fields, Trevor began working with Pimmit Counseling in
2018 as a behavior technician, then later as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). Trevor completed a
graduate certificate program through Florida Tech University in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2020, and
gained state licensure as a Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) in February 2021. Within
ABA, Trevor enjoys implementing Functional Communication Training, self-management tactics, and
client advocacy. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, playing golf,
and traveling the world.
Maryam Jafardokht
M.A., BCBA, LABAAssistant Supervisor
Maryam graduated from Allameh Tabatabaee University in 2009 with a Master of Family Counseling and
has been a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst since 2021. Maryam has worked with children and
adolescents ranging in age 10 to 18 years old who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder,
Developmental Disorders, ADHD, ADD, Intellectual Delay Disability. Maryam started her work in the ABA
field at Pimmit Counseling and Wellness Clinic as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) in 2018. She
delivered direct services, which include 1:1 therapy and parent training, in multiple of settings, such as:
in-home and in the community. Maryam is Tri-lingual and speaks Farsi and Turkish fluently. Maryam’s
specialties include implementing functional communication training, teaching social skills, decreasing
challenging behavior, and developing Task Analyses. Maryam is very dedicated to the field and develops
programs that are geared towards enabling children with autism to become independent and successful
in their home and educational settings.
Toufic Maged
HR DirectorWorking for Pimmit counseling over the last 3 years recruiting talented and dedicated Behavior Technicians and Analysts has given me so much satisfaction not only professionally but also emotionally, knowing how essential their services are to our clients. When asked to contribute further to our Pimmit family by providing SafetyCare training to our employees, I enthusiastically welcomed this additional opportunity to help our staff perform their jobs more safely and keep their clients from harm’s way. So far 19 Pimmit employees have been certified As Safety Care specialists and we will keep providing the training until everyone working at Pimmit is certified!
Nushin Sullivan
Onboarding/Scheduling CoordinatorNushin started working at PCWC in 2020. Nushin is responsible for coordinating staff schedules and assisting new hires with their onboarding process. She also works as an Admin at the office and assists in all aspects of daily office work. Nushin was born in the United States, but her family is Persian and she is bilingual in Farsi. In her spare time, Nushin enjoys cooking, hiking/being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.
