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Specializing in Clinical AND Sports Psychology Services

Meet Dr. Zaher

Dr. Sherif Zaher is a licensed clinical psychologist (#28119) who specializes in helping individuals maximize their potential in both clinical and sports psychology. Depending on the client's location, the sessions are done either in person or via telehealth.

Credentials include:

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
Masters in Kinesiology (sports performance)
Bachlor's in Psychology
World #1 ITF ranking (40+ doubles division)
NCAA Division 1 Champion
6 years of Division 1 Coaching
Bilingual Therapist (English, Arabic)

general Information

My Story

As an undergraduate I was named CSUS Scholar-Athlete of the year, and was selected into the Psi-Chi honor society in psychology. My major athletic accomplishments include: being inducted in the Buffalo Tennis Hall of Fame, ranking top 50 ITF (junior world ranking), ranking #1 in all of Egypt's junior divisions, participating in Wimbledon championships, winning a NCAA team championship title (University of Georgia), ranking #1 in the nation for the over 30's division (USTA doubles ranking), and head coaching two Division 1 tennis programs.

Additionally, I've reached a personal best #1 (doubles) and #3 (singles) ITF world ranking in the 40+ age category.

I'm also the current African champion in pickleball for singles and mixed doubles.

sport psychology

In the realm of sport psychology, I have been working with numerous top athletes ages 9+. Some of the notable organizations/programs that I have consulted with include: Egyptian Tennis Federation, Sacramento Republic F.C., CSUS athletics, UC Santa Cruz, the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), as well as several elite high schools. In addition, I have been providing my services to world class athletes including soccer world cup and tennis grand slam participants. My services have been utilized by the Sacramento Republic Football Club from (2014-2020), and most recently the Egyptian Davis Cup team (helping them secure a win to advance to Group 2). In a classroom setting, I taught sport psychology to college students at Folsom Lake College.

Clinical psychology

Prior to my role as a licensed psychologist, my positions included: junior specialist with UC Davis Children's Hospital, and mental health rehabilitation specialist at a crisis residential center. I consider my involvement in a patient's recovery process a great honor, and focus on adopting an eclectic approach that provides each patient with the best fitting treatment that helps in overcoming the presenting challenges experienced. I specialize in working with various mood disorders, but also have a special interest in working with patients struggling with trauma-related symptoms, and have been helping refugees acculturate in the United stated, primarily using a post-traumatic growth approach.

what makes my approach different......

Sports - The approach I take working with my athletes centers around character development and commitment to act on professional values resulting in positive outcomes. One of my main focuses is on regulating emotions through improving cognitive functioning and enhancing mindfulness skills. This also entails assisting athletes in identifying core maladaptive beliefs responsible for perpetual negative patterns of behavior. Accordingly, my athletes are able to maximize their potential by developing coping techniques and adopting a mindset that facilitates positive changes in performance.

Clinical - The approach I take working in clinical psychology is eclectic in nature, and involves collaboration with my clients whom I believe are the experts of their life stories. By identifying the factors associated with the client's presenting challenges, a case conceptualization is created with concrete goals to work towards. At the core of my clinical approach are humanistic techniques that focus on self-exploration in pursuit of growth and self-actualization.