Sayeh Beheshti, MD, MA

Dr. Sayeh Beheshti is known for a thoughtful and deeply human approach to mental health care that combines medical expertise with a whole-person philosophy of well-being. With more than two decades of experience in psychiatry, she works with adolescents and adults who are seeking not only relief from emotional distress, but a deeper sense of balance, clarity, and connection in their lives.

Before entering medicine, Dr. Beheshti worked in Silicon Valley as a research and development engineer at Hewlett-Packard and conducted research at IBM’s Almaden Research Center. This early training in systems engineering and analytical problem solving continues to shape her scientific approach to understanding the brain and the complex patterns that influence human behavior.

Many of the individuals who seek Dr. Beheshti’s care have already tried multiple approaches to improving their mental health. Some arrive after years of therapy or medication trials. Others are high-functioning individuals who feel overwhelmed, burned out, or disconnected despite outward success. Dr. Beheshti focuses on helping patients understand the patterns within the brain and mind that contribute to these struggles and guiding them toward meaningful and lasting change.

Her clinical philosophy emphasizes the brain’s remarkable capacity for adaptation and healing. Drawing on both traditional psychiatric care and emerging neuroscience, Dr. Beheshti integrates psychotherapy, medication management when appropriate, and advanced brain-based treatments designed to support emotional regulation, cognitive clarity, and resilience to stress.

At Beheshti Wellness Collective in Dana Point, Dr. Beheshti offers ExoMind, an FDA-cleared form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that gently stimulates targeted areas of the prefrontal cortex involved in mood regulation, focus, and stress response. These brief, non-invasive sessions help rebalance brain networks that may have become dysregulated through chronic stress, depression, anxiety, or burnout. Many patients seek this treatment not only for symptom relief but to improve mental clarity, sleep, emotional stability, and overall brain wellness.

Dr. Beheshti’s approach is also shaped by more than fifteen years of personal and professional engagement with mindfulness and meditation practices. These disciplines inform her belief that lasting mental health arises not only from symptom reduction but from cultivating awareness, resilience, and a deeper connection with oneself.

Many of the people drawn to her practice are thoughtful, introspective individuals who sense that something in their lives has fallen out of alignment and are looking for a deeper path back to stability and clarity.

Patients often describe their work with Dr. Beheshti as rediscovering a sense of authenticity that had been buried beneath stress, trauma, or the pressures of modern life. Through Beheshti Wellness Collective, she has created a practice devoted to whole-person brain wellness, combining advances in neuroscience with compassionate, individualized care.

Her guiding philosophy can be summarized in a simple idea that resonates deeply with many of the people who seek her care: helping individuals return to themselves.

• M.D. – University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (2006) Graduated with Distinction in the Humanities and Arts
• Residency – Psychiatry, University of California Irvine Medical Center (2010)
• M.A. – Physiology / Molecular Biology; San José State University (2001)
• B.S. – Computer Science and Mathematics; San José State University (1992)

• Board Eligible – American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

• America's Best in Medicine 2026
• Distinction in the Humanities and Arts; University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (2006)
• Honorable Mention – Short Story; The New Physician Magazine Creative Arts Contest (2005)

• American Medical Association
• American Psychiatric Association

• Mental Health Education Talks at Schools
• Community Mental Health Groups
• Addiction Facility Speaking Engagements
• Free Mental Health Groups for Local Residents

Publications

Controversies of Using Buprenorphine for Maintenance in Opioid Dependency; Psychiatric Times, 2014

Military Sexual Trauma during Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan: Prevalence, Readjustment, and Gender Differences; Violence and Victims, 2012; Co-author

Poster Presentations

American Epilepsy Society – Culturally Congruent Adaptation of a Wada Protocol into Spanish and Farsi

Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology – Expression of Murine Semaphorins in Lymphoid Tissues

Writing and Public Thought Leadership

Founder and author of Conscious Feminism (Substack), a publication exploring psychology, culture, and the evolving relationship between masculine and feminine archetypes.

Author of MyBodyHisChoice.com, a reflective memoir exploring personal narrative, identity, and the psychological impact of social structures.