Lana Batarseh, PhD

Licensed Psychology Associate in DC

Dr. Lana Batarseh is a licensed Psychology Associate whose practice includes forensic and clinical work. Her forensic expertise includes working with pretrial individuals undergoing competency restoration, NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity), civil commitment, court-mandated treatment, and other forensic proceedings. She frequently performs psychological testing, violence risk assessment, and the assessment and treatment of individuals with serious mental illness. She completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, and currently provides services in criminal and civil matters.

Dr. Batarseh’s clinical work includes working with adults navigating complex trauma, addiction, severe mental illness (including psychosis), anxiety, mood disorders, life transitions, and challenges related to legal system involvement. She also often works with people who require forensic-informed treatment and clients seeking a clinician with expertise at the intersection of mental health and the legal system. Dr. Batarseh is passionate about helping individuals make sense of difficult experiences, reconnect with their strengths, and move toward lives that feel more connected, meaningful, and aligned with their values.

Dr. Batarseh has provided psychological services across community mental health, outpatient hospital, inpatient psychiatric, forensic, and Veterans Affairs settings. Her background in diverse treatment settings has shaped her belief that mental health cannot be understood in isolation. Trauma, culture, identity, relationships, community, and the systems people navigate all influence how individuals make sense of themselves and their experiences. 

She strives to understand each person within the broader context of their life rather than reducing them to a diagnosis or set of symptoms. Her collaborative nature allows her to help clients make sense of their experiences, identify patterns that keep them feeling stuck, and develop new ways of understanding themselves and their stories. 

While therapy should feel supportive and validating, she also believes breakthroughs often come from being gently challenged to examine long-held beliefs, assumptions, and coping strategies. Her goal is to create a space where clients can cultivate insight, rewrite unhelpful narratives, and move toward lives that feel more intentional. Her clinical approach is relational, trauma-informed, and grounded in evidence-based practice.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Chico. She completed her Master of Science in Psychology, Master of Science in Clinical Psychology, and PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Forensic Psychology at Palo Alto University.