Dr. Ahou Vaziri Line is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, Certified School Counselor and recently held a faculty position as a Research Assistant Professor at The University of North Texas where she trained graduate students in their pursuit of a career in counseling. Ahou is passionate about working with children and adolescents and started her career as a 7th and 8th grade teacher. During that time, her passion for working with the socioemotional needs of children as well as their families grew. As a result, Ahou decided to return to school and earned her Master of Science in Counseling from Southern Methodist University and then continued her education at The University of North Texas where she earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education. In her time in academia, Ahou has authored several peer reviewed journal articles as well as book chapters educating counselors on working with parents, supporting Middle Eastern children and families, and in training preservice educators to consider counseling skills in their works as teachers. Ahou has also presented at many local, state, and national conferences in various topics including effectively engaging parents in therapy. Additionally, Ahou currently holds a board position for The Texas Association for Play Therapy.

Ahou strives to create a warm, comfortable, and safe environment for each client. She works to understand individuals holistically and strives to act as a partner as they create their own goals for counseling and progress through their journey towards meaningful change. Though Ahou has additional training and certifications in working with children and parents, Ahou works with clients of all ages and thoroughly enjoys working across the lifespan. When working with children, Ahou values the relationship with both the child and the parents and works collaboratively with parents to help make necessary changes within the family. When working with adults, Ahou strives to create a safe environment where individuals can express themselves without judgment. Ahou truly believes that “people change when they feel free not to change”. Additionally, Ahou is bilingual, speaking both English and Farsi.

Ahou’s clinical experience includes work in private practice, university settings, school counseling, and providing play therapy within the schools. Ahou has received extensive training in many treatment modalities including play therapy, group play therapy, filial therapy, activity therapy, group counseling, and talk therapy. Ahou has gained a variety of experiences with clients of all ages and many different counseling concerns including perfectionism, parenting concerns, sibling conflict, autism spectrum disorder, depression, and anxiety. Moreover, she has received extensive training in the administration and interpretation of a variety of psychoeducational assessments.

When Ahou isn’t teaching or working with clients, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, 2 year old daughter, and husband.