Arian Mahini

Coaching philosophy

As a career and relationship coach at Oakland Psych, Arian Mahini supports individuals to create deeper personal alignment in their careers and relationships—two fundamental areas that bring meaning and purpose to our lives. By exploring desires and longstanding (and often obsolete) assumptions about who we are, we can move towards a more joyful and fulfilling life. Utilizing trauma-informed coaching tools, we can disrupt frustrating and ineffective loops that keep us stuck. Arian supports clients to gain clarity on their life paths—beyond their fears and false barriers—empowering them to actualize their goals with a deeper sense of self-knowing. He brings a compassionate and exploratory approach to his coaching, rooted in the study of Internal Family Systems (IFS), multicultural diversity, and somatics. Arian has received training and credentials through the IFS Institute, The Academy for Coaching Excellence, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, and Haum Yoga Teacher Training.

“Arian Mahini is an exceptional coach. He supports his clients to discover their deeper goals and desires, while helping them overcome fundamental barriers that stand in their way. He strikes a skillful balance between guiding and strategizing, without over-facilitating, to empower his clients to create meaningful and enduring change. His trauma-informed and somatic-focused background meshes well with my psychotherapy approach at Oakland Psych—a particularly powerful combo with clients we’ve supported collaboratively—which is why his skillset has become an invaluable part of our offerings.” —Dr. Yakov Barton

Client testimonial

“Super grateful to Arian for the support he gave me during a work/life transition. He consistently reminded me of who I was at my core, outside of any tricks my mind might play on me, which gave me strength and courage to trust myself and lean into and through the tough moments. I appreciate how available he made himself, how flexible he was with my schedule, and the compassionate yet firm container he built with me.” —Chris, former client

“I've worked with several coaches and therapists over the years and was struck by Arian's skillfulness and compassion. Arian helped bring clarity and acceptance to my career exploration journey. I had previously felt distracted, unfocused and self-critical about my perceived avoidance of structure and external accountability. Working with Arian, I was able to recognize what's true for me and gain the confidence to assert my truth in my interactions with others. I also fully appreciated that he had a gentle way of calling me on my own bullshit - inevitably leading me back to the conclusion that I always have the power to help myself.” —Tara Zhang, Social Impact Data Consultant + former client

“Arian has helped me to improve how I show up for work daily. Before my coaching sessions with Arian, I worked hard on my new business, running as fast as possible and for as many hours as possible. I was in a scale-at-all-costs mindset. After about ten sessions with Arian, I show up for my work more calmly, collected, centered, and confident. I've become comfortable with stepping away from my workday after a reasonable amount of time spent, having accomplished my daily tasks, and moving closer to my goals. One significant development in my career performance gained directly from Arian's coaching is that I now take time to celebrate my wins, no matter how small they seem. Arian helped me find my flow and focus on what my work truly means and why I am driven to succeed. I've recommended working with Arian to a few friends now. I will continue working with Arian to stay on top of my game and continually improve my impact on my business with more moments to smile and enjoy the journey. I highly recommend Arian's coaching to anyone considering it.” —Nicholas Bruce, Broker-Owner, Ukiyo Property Management Inc. + current client

“I would like to express my appreciation for Arian as a coach. He possesses a keen understanding of nuance, paradox, and complexity, which greatly assisted me in gaining clarity on the challenges I was grappling with. His coaching has been instrumental in helping me navigate these issues more effectively. I recommend Arian for his skillful guidance and insights.” —P.S., Meditation, NVC, and Racial Justice Instructor

"Working with Arian has been transformative. Arian has given me exactly the support and guidance I needed. I sought out working with a coach because I found myself stuck - I wasn't standing fully in my own power and potential to create the life I want both within my professional and personal life. I wasn't sure where the stickiness was coming from or how to work through it. Arian has been the ideal match for me as a coach. He helps me identify the sources of stickiness. He helps me identify what the stickiness is telling me - about what is important to me and what I value and, in real detail, what it all means for the life I seek to create. He helps me identify action steps I can take to transcend the stickiness. Arian has always guided me with a blend of working with the intangible (for example, naming/acknowledging the emotional/spiritual/psychological aspects of my experiences) and the tangible (for example, creating actionable steps I can take). Coaching isn't therapy/counseling, however my work with Arian has been deeply therapeutic. And enormously empowering. I knew I needed something different than therapy/counseling - I needed a structured approach to empowering myself in my business and personal life. I also needed that guidance to be compassionate, caring, and for there to be space to acknowledge and incorporate how the different areas and experiences of my life impact how I stand in my business life. Arian has given me that perfect blend. He is able to hold the traumas, losses, childhood experiences, etc., with compassion but also loosely - he acknowledges them with grace and love, but doesn't hold on to them too tightly. Directing me/us towards what those experiences tell us about the work we are trying to do together, which is to support me to flourish in my power to create the life I want. And this is what I needed. I have a counselor with whom I do specific healing work around traumas and such. My work with Arian - my coach - is about accessing my own strengths, power, and possibility to create the life I want. It is about shifting my mindset into one of possibility and power rather than scarcity and fear. And he is guiding me so beautifully. So compassionately. And so skillfully. With Arian, I feel supported on my path towards building financial, emotional, and spiritual resilience and abundance. I want to add, too, that it has been a huge relief and critical, for me, to be working with someone with shared social and political values. I was nervous about looking for a "business" coach because I wasn't looking for someone whose vision was to juice me up about making more money. I wanted mentorship about how to stand in power in my vision to build a values-based business that can sustain me and, eventually, support nourishing sustenance for future employees and community. In my work as a business owner, I seek to create a model that is equitable, just, and a life-giving, community-sustaining alternative to the oppressive capitalist and supremacist businesses abundant in our society. This poses real challenges - how can I build this kind of model without burning myself out in the process? How do I mentally and spiritually equip myself to deal with some of the challenges (for example health insurance) that come with building that kind of vision in an economic and political system that does not care for its citizens? It has been so nourishing to be able to discuss these challenges and systems and bring those into the conversation with someone who gets it and shares values around justice and equity." —S.P., current client

Education

BA, Psychology + Economics | University of California, Berkeley

Training & Certifications

Coaching for Self Leadership: An Intro to Internal Family Systems | IFS Institute

Leadership, Empathy, & Changemaking | altMBA

ICF Certified Coach (pending) | Academy for Coaching Excellence

Fundamentals of Facilitation for Racial Justice Work | Interaction Institute for Social Change

200-hour Yoga Teacher Training | Haum SF

Professional Experience

Career Advisor & Lead Negotiator | Rora

Purpose & Integrity Strategist | Individual

Senior Talent Insights Consultant, Large Enterprise | LinkedIn

Senior Engagement Manager + Customer Success Manager | Reflektive

Project Manager | Third and Grove

Marketing Campaign Manager | The Greater Good Science Center

Financial Analyst | University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business