Our Story
The Highland Center for Mental and Behavioral Health was created with a clear intention: to build a therapeutic space that feels warm, relational, and grounded in real human connection. Instead of asking people to mold themselves to rigid systems, we work to understand the context, culture, and lived experience each person brings into the room.
Our founder, Arzu Vig, is a second-generation woman of color whose life and work have been shaped by cross-cultural experiences and a deep appreciation for people’s stories from all walks of life.
Before opening the practice, Arzu spent years working at the intersection of mental health, education, and organizational systems—from healthcare consulting to special education advocacy to helping establish a community mental health initiative that partnered with more than 80 schools and nonprofits. Across these roles, she noticed consistent gaps in how therapeutic support was delivered.
To better understand these gaps, Arzu conducted qualitative research with clients, families, and community partners, asking them what felt missing or unsatisfying in their past therapy experiences. Their responses highlighted several themes:
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Care felt too clinical or impersonal
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Therapists didn’t fully understand clients’ cultural or identity contexts
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Sessions felt unstructured or repetitive, with little sense of progress
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Clients felt talked at rather than collaborated with
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Therapy models weren't flexible enough to adapt to real-life circumstances
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People wanted more practical tools and clarity about the process
These insights shaped the foundation of The Highland Center for Mental and Behavioral Health: a practice that values cultural nuance, individualized treatment planning, and a strong therapeutic alliance.
We draw from a wide range of evidence-based approaches—including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Somatic Therapy—to ensure each client has a personalized path forward. Integrating multiple modalities allows us to tailor treatment to your needs, not the other way around.
At The Highland Center for Mental and Behavioral Health, therapy is not a one-size-fits-all service. It is a dynamic, collaborative process shaped by your goals, your identity, and your lived experience. Our aim is simple: to offer care that feels human, respectful, and genuinely supportive.
Who We Serve
The Highland Center supports individuals, couples, families, and groups navigating a wide range of experiences. Our clients come from many backgrounds— professionals balancing high expectations, students finding their footing, parents and blended families adapting to new dynamics, and people who appear “high-functioning” on the outside while quietly struggling on the inside.
Many of the people we work with describe feeling misunderstood, overlooked, or unsure where to turn. Some are starting over. Some are masking. Some are managing invisible burdens that others don’t see. And some simply want a space where they don’t have to explain the parts of themselves they’ve had to hide elsewhere.
We proudly serve and affirm:
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Neurodivergent individuals
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LGBTQIA+ clients and gender-expansive identities
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Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
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Clients with visible and non-visible disabilities
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Immigrant, first-generation, and multi-cultural families
Whether you’re processing a significant life change, healing from past experiences, strengthening relationships, or trying to understand yourself more deeply — you’re welcome here. You don’t need a specific “reason” to begin therapy. You only need a place that feels safe enough to show up as yourself.
Our Mission
At The Highland Center for Mental and Behavioral Health, our mission is to deliver thoughtful, personalized therapy that meets people where they are. We blend clinical expertise with real-world understanding to foster genuine healing, resilience, and growth.
We envision a world where therapy is truly accessible—where care adapts to people’s lived experiences instead of asking them to fit into outdated models of wellness. We believe emotional well-being deserves the same seriousness, nuance, and respect as physical health—and that seeking support should feel empowering, not pathologizing.
Our work is grounded in culturally responsive care that honors the complexity of identity, culture, and lived experience. In a field that has often overlooked diverse voices, we strive to provide inclusive, evidence-based therapy that reflects the realities of those we serve.
At the heart of The Highland Center for Mental and Behavioral Health are our core values, inspired by our name—Highland— a place of perspective, strength, and clarity. Each letter represents how we show up, both in and outside the therapy room: a commitment to helping you and/or your family rise above challenges, find balance, and reconnect with your sense of self.
Our Values
Humanness
We lead with warmth, respect, and curiosity — centering real people over rigid models. Therapy here feels human, not clinical.
Integrity
We ground our work in evidence-based practices, clinical training, and ethical care — consistently showing up with professionalism every time.
Growth
We believe healing isn’t about “fixing” — it’s about expanding. Therapy is a space to gain insight, develop capacity, and make choices.
Honoring Complexity
We don’t oversimplify. We make room for nuance — emotional, cultural, relational — because complexity deserves care, not avoidance.
Lived Experience
We respect the intelligence of what people carry. Your story, context, and history matter here — we don’t treat you like a case file.
Adaptability
Therapy should evolve with you. We’re committed to staying flexible and responsive in how we work, not locked into a formula.
Nuanced Understanding
We approach mental health as layered and interconnected — with the clarity to see beyond symptoms and into what’s really going on.
Depth
We go beneath the surface. Whether it’s insight, emotion, or identity — we hold space for what’s real, and what matters.
Ready to begin therapy?
We are here to support you on your journey.