Dr. Tara Rostami is a licensed psychologist in California (License 36367) and Arizona (License PSY-005056), specializing in clinical assessment, trauma-informed psychotherapy, and utilization review. She currently serves as a Clinical Psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles, California, a position she has held since February 2020. In this role, Dr. Rostami conducts comprehensive utilization reviews and clinical quality audits, adjudicates psychotherapy authorization requests, leads clinical oversight activities, and supervises psychology doctoral interns to ensure adherence to evidence-based practice, documentation standards, and regulatory compliance. She provides evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression (CBT-D), Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) for nightmares, and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
Since September 2024, Dr. Rostami has served part-time as a Naval Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, conducting psychological evaluations, pre- and post-deployment screenings, mental health consultations for commanders, resilience training, and supporting critical incident response efforts. She also provides virtual psychotherapy through Medens Health, serving college students, professionals, and active-duty service members and their families.
Previously, she served as a Clinical Psychologist at the VA in Las Vegas (2018–2020), providing crisis intervention, diagnostic assessment, interdisciplinary consultation, group therapy, and delegated clinical supervision. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the VA in Phoenix (2017–2018), focusing on trauma-related disorders, and a doctoral internship at the VA in Canandaigua, NY (2016–2017), where she trained with PTSD and substance use teams, conducted psychodiagnostic evaluations, and provided therapy in inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings. Her predoctoral externship at Alvarado Parkway Institute (2015–2016) provided crisis intervention, short-term psychotherapy, and psychodiagnostic assessments in acute and forensic psychiatric settings.
Dr. Rostami earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University, San Diego (2017), an M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University (2013), and a B.A. in Psychology from California State University Northridge (2010). She has contributed to peer-reviewed research on suicidality and prescription opioid misuse and completed a dissertation examining brain impairment in violent offenders and non-offenders using the MMPI and MMPI-2. She holds certifications in Telemental Health, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and CBT for Insomnia.
Dr. Rostami is committed to providing culturally competent, evidence-based care, promoting resilience and recovery, and enhancing the mental health and well-being of veterans, service members, and diverse civilian populations.