Mahshid F. Hager

Mahshid Hager, LMFT, SEP™ is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California, a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and an SEI faculty member based in San Diego. She maintains a private practice where she focuses on individual and group case consultations for SE students at all levels, with a particular passion for making the SE curriculum more accessible, digestible, and meaningfully integrated into both clinical work and everyday life.

Her teaching in the Somatic Experiencing classroom is grounded in an engaged, embodied practice. Mahshid tracks not only the material, but also the nervous systems in the room — including her own — and approaches the classroom as a living system rather than a site of content delivery. Dialogue, curiosity, and relational contact are central to the learning process, and she intentionally makes space for uncertainty, difference, and moments of tension, trusting these as meaningful material when held with presence and care. Her teaching is marked by relational awareness, steadiness, and responsiveness to the unfolding dynamics of the classroom. She supports a learning environment where dialogue, difference, and complexity can be met with presence and care, while encouraging students to bring curiosity, accountability, and resilience to their learning process.

With over 20 years of clinical experience, Mahshid has worked across nonprofit and private practice settings, providing trauma-informed care to children, adults, and families from diverse backgrounds. Her long involvement with Somatic Experiencing includes assisting and teaching across training levels, as well as participating in post-advanced learning with Dr. Peter A. Levine, experiences that have further shaped her depth of understanding and teaching presence. Originally from Tehran, Iran, Mahshid brings a personal and professional commitment to issues of displacement, migration, and resilience. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two sons, and enjoys traveling, hiking, and writing.

Please visit my website for more information: www.mahshidhager.com