Mona Klausing, M.S., LMFT
Co-Director, AAMFT Clinical Supervisor & Board Member
Mona leads NISD’s business operations and marketing, in addition to providing supervision and serving on the Board. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, AAMFT-Approved Clinical Supervisor and CAMFT Clinical Fellow. Previously Mona was the Clinic Administrator at San Diego State University’s off-campus clinic, The Center for Community Counseling & Engagement, before taking her position at NISD. She is a part-time faculty in the Counseling & School Psychology department at SDSU, teaching both undergrads and grad students. Additionally, Mona is the Founder of Avani Counseling, where she supervises a team of associate therapists and offers clients a sliding fee scale based on annual household income in the range of $80-200/session. Avani Counseling accepts Aetna, Cigna, and United Behavioral Insurance (Optum) insurance as well. Mona and her team offer remote / video therapy and workshops for clients that reside anywhere in California.
A Note from Mona:
Our society teaches us to value independence, confidence and productivity – sometimes to the detriment of personal relationships and our own sense of self-worth. Almost daily we are bombarded with narrowly defined gender roles, and ‘rules’ around how we should look, act, think and feel. I enjoy collaborating with clients to reconsider the boundaries of their lives, how they create meaningful relationships, and in doing so, identify their preferred ways of engaging with the world around them.
Prior to making a mid-career change to the field of marriage and family therapy in 2010, I worked as a marketing and public relations executive for almost 20 years in the high tech industry. As such, I have been witness to the stress and other negative effects of ‘corporate America’ and in conforming to social norms and pressures that don’t fit our own ideas of self.
Born in India and raised in the US, I have also lived and worked in the Dominican Republic and Japan, and am part of a multi-cultural (Indian and German) family. I believe this gives me a unique perspective on how individuals, couples and families deal with the stressors associated with immigration and acculturation, multi-ethnic relationships, intergenerational conflicts, life transitions and other difficulties.
My education includes a bachelor’s in Linguistics with an emphasis in Romance Languages (Spanish and French) and a Minor in Japanese Studies from UCSD, Intermediate Japanese Language certificate from Kai Japanese School in Tokyo, a master’s degree in Marriage & Family Therapy from SDSU, and two post-Master’s certificates in Latin American Family Therapy from Alliant University Mexico City campus and Narrative Therapy & Community Work from NISD. After graduate school I continued my clinical training as an associate marriage & family therapist under the guidance and collaboration of a wonderfully supportive community of therapists at SDSU’s Center for Community Counseling & Engagement and at NISD.
In 2017, I launched my private practice where I provided counseling services in English and Spanish and also co-facilitated various support groups at different times during the year. In 2020, I formed the BIPOC Narrative Community with a group of colleagues to create a forum for therapists and students of color to connect around postmodern therapy practices. In 2023, I incorporated and expanded my therapy practice to form Avani Counseling, where my staff and I serve clients all over California. In addition to working with clients from all walks of life, I remain keenly motivated to working with South Asian clients who may be experiencing unique acculturation challenges in the U.S.
I live in San Diego with my husband, daughter, and a delightful assortment of animals. Please see my teaching web site for more information about my role at SDSU: www.monaklausing.com. If you’d like to book a counseling appointment or arrange a brief phone consultation with me, email admin@avanicounseling.com or request an appointment at bit.ly/Avani-appt.