Thank you for checking out our center! I am a Licensed Marriage and family therapist and board-certified sexologist focusing on working with men, couples therapy, and multi-ethnic individuals. I founded Rouse Relational Wellness in 2021 to address the shame and anxiety that show up all too often in sex and relationships. I received my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Golden Gate University and a Master’s degree in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University, where my work focused on Middle Eastern queer folks and kink and trauma. I also specialize in working with multiheritage couples and those who have immigrated recently or are first-generation American-born.

Issues I have focused on include, but are not limited to:

• Sex and Sexuality

• Sex and anxiety

• Polyamory, Open Relationships and Kink

• Sexual Disorders

• Accessing Emotions

• Trauma/PTSD

• Men’s Groups

I focus on helping you improve your insight and awareness on how you relate to yourself and your life in order to help reach the goals you desire. 

Studies show that the key to effective therapy is the person's relationship with the therapist. Set up a consultation to find if we are a good fit.

Contact me to set up a free 20 minute phone consultation.

Education:

• MA in Sexuality Studies, San Francisco State University, 2008

• MA in Counseling Psychology, Golden Gate University, 2011

Training:

• UCSF AIDS Health Project, San Francisco, 2010-2011

• The Psychotherapy Institute, Berkeley, CA, 2011-2013

• Longfellow Middle School, Berkeley, CA, 2012-2013

• Berkeley Technology Academy, Berkeley, CA, 2013-2015

• Completed Level 1 Training Gottman Method Couples Therapy, 2018

• Developmental Model of Couples Therapy, 2019

• Competed Level 1 Relational Life Therapy for Couples, 2020

• Institute for Relational Intimacy, 2021

Graduate-Level Instruction:

• Lecturer at San Francisco State University Counseling Psychology Masters of Science Program, Spring 2019 & 2020

  • COUN 859 - Counseling Aspects of Sexuality

  • COUN 827 - The Consultation Process

Affiliations:

• The Psychotherapy Institute, Berkeley, CA

• Bay Area Open Minds

• California Association Marriage and Family Therapists

• Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

• Gaylesta

Publications

Khalili, D.F. (2013). Case Study. Javier: HIV-Focused Psychotherapy. In D. Maller, K. Langsam, & M.J. Fritchle. The Praeger Handbook of Community Mental Health Practices. 1: Working in the Local Community. (pp. 120-124). Santa Barbara: Praeger. 

Mental Health Workbook for Men: Exercises to Improve Your Emotional, Psychological, and Social Well-Being, Rockridge Press, (2023)

• Bookshop.org

• Thriftbooks

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

Past Speaking Engagements

• Sexual Health Alliance

• Sex Ed Lectures

• UCSF Alliance Health Project

• The Psychotherapy Institute

• Wright Institute

• UC Berkeley
  

Press Mentions:

• Sex Therapists Reveal What They Get Asked the Most (Reader's Digest, 2018)

• Should I Have an Open Marriage? (POPSugar, 2018)

• Is Online Therapy as Effective as In-Person Therapy? (Vice, 2018)

• Questions About Sex - What Sex Therapists Get Asked the Most (Well For Joy)

• 9 Best Suction Cup Dildos (Glamour, 2021)

• 20 Super Bowl Sex Positions for an Orgasmic Touchdown (Cosmopolitan Magazine, 2021)

• Reignite your sexual desire: 40 sex therapists share their advice (2022)

• 23 Best Sex Toys for Couples (Good Housekeeping, 2023)

Podcast Interviews:

• Fighting Anxiety with Mindfulness (2021)

• Better Sex with Jessa Zimmerman: Performance Anxiety (2021)

• Sucias are my Favorite: Confidence Building (2021)

• Pickles and Vodka Podcast: Smorgasboard of Delight (2022)

• Therapy Roulette: More Foreplay and Fewer Panic Attacks (2022)

• Erection IQ: Managing Burnout and Stress for Better Erections (2022)

• The Practice of Therapy (2022)

• Sexology Podcast (2023)