Couples Therapy in Los Angeles, CA | Marriage Counseling
Love in a big city can feel like two people passing each other on parallel freeways, close enough to see each other but never quite merging. I offer emotionally focused, culturally rooted couples therapy in Los Angeles, CA for first generation Latinas, professionals of color, and multicultural partners who are still deeply committed to each other yet keep landing in the same argument, the same silence, the same ache of feeling unseen. This is therapy for people who are done performing okayness and ready to understand what their conflict is actually protecting.
My clients live and work all over the city, from Silver Lake and Echo Park to Koreatown, Highland Park, Culver City, and the Westside corridors near UCLA. Some spend their days on studio lots or in DTLA high rises, others build businesses in East LA or hold demanding roles in healthcare and tech. What they share is a life shaped by hustle, long commutes on the 10 or the 101, and family systems that stretch across neighborhoods, borders, and generations. Virtual sessions are available throughout California, and my office in Irvine is within reach when meeting in person matters.
The city rewards ambition and image, which makes emotional honesty feel like a professional liability. Many partners here carry immigrant family expectations, financial pressure from a city that never gets cheaper, and the exhaustion of being impressive everywhere except at home. Couples choose this practice because the work goes underneath the surface strategies, honoring culture without using it as a weapon, and turning the relationship back into a place to rest.
How it works

Step 1
A thorough intake session where we explore your relationship history, cultural backgrounds, and current struggles so we can understand the deeper patterns behind the disconnection.

Step 2
Emotionally focused sessions to help you with clarity, begin repairing trust, and rebuild emotional safety.

Step 3
Ongoing, guided sessions with personalized homework, where we break unhelpful cycles, strengthen connection, and practice healthier ways of relating so your relationship feels more like a true partnership.
Explore my therapy services and specializations
Weeks in this city are long. One of you gets home from a shoot, a shift, or a commute that ate two hours, and there is barely energy left for hello. Resentment does not always arrive loudly. Sometimes it settles in like traffic, slow and constant, until the relationship feels like one more thing to get through.
Couple therapy near you offers a different pace. Partners often describe the early shifts as small but real: an argument that de-escalates instead of spiraling, a moment of being heard without having to fight for it, a softness that had gone missing somewhere between rent checks and family obligations.
Sessions look at the cycle itself rather than assigning blame, tracing where trust got thin, what intimacy is asking for now, and how two busy lives can turn toward each other again. The goal is a connection that holds up under real life, not just date nights.
Being the strong one has a cost. Maybe your family sees the degree, the apartment, the career that justified every sacrifice they made, while nobody sees the guilt, the overthinking, or the loneliness that rides shotgun through your days across this enormous city.
Individual therapy near you creates room to put all of it down. Clients often describe finally exhaling, no longer translating themselves for anyone, no longer editing their needs to stay easy to love.
The work often touches self-worth, boundaries with family, the immigrant daughter role, old relationships that still echo, and the quiet question of who you are when you stop achieving. It moves at the speed of trust, not performance.
An anxious mind in LA has endless fuel: the industry that might call back or might not, the rent increase, the parents who ask when you will slow down and the boss who asks why you have not sped up. Your body might be at a stoplight on Sunset while your thoughts are already three disasters ahead.
Anxiety therapy near you helps quiet that forward flinch. Clients frequently notice their shoulders dropping, their sleep returning, and decisions becoming lighter once worry is no longer running the household alone.
Together we look at what the vigilance has been guarding, the perfectionism, the fear of disappointing people who sacrificed for you, and the habits that keep your nervous system braced. Steadiness becomes something you carry, not something you chase.
Getting engaged here can mean juggling two families' visions, two cultures' traditions, and one very expensive city, all before the real questions get asked. Excitement and quiet worry can share the same couch.
Premarital counseling near you makes space for the conversations that feel too risky to start alone: money, faith, whose career bends when children arrive, how you will handle each other's families, and what loyalty means when cultures define it differently.
Couples tend to leave these conversations feeling less like negotiators and more like teammates. The marriage begins with eyes open, roots deep, and a shared language for hard moments before they arrive.
Loss does not care that this city keeps moving. The 110 still jams, the group chat still pings, work still expects you Monday. Meanwhile something in your life has permanently changed shape, and pretending otherwise is getting heavier by the week.
Grief counseling near you offers a place where nothing has to be tidy. The sadness, the anger, the relief, the numbness, even the laughter that shows up at strange times, all of it belongs.
Sessions make room for the person or chapter you lost, the rituals and cultural traditions that hold meaning, and the slow work of building a life that carries the loss without being defined by it.
Immigration Evaluations are available for individuals and families in Los Angeles, CA whose legal cases require thorough psychological documentation. Whether the petition involves asylum, extreme hardship, VAWA, or cancellation of removal, telling your story deserves both clinical precision and genuine care. If you are searching for immigration evaluations near you, this process is structured, bilingual friendly, and handled with the gravity your case deserves.
I serve first-generation women of color in Los Angeles, CA
I provide therapy to individuals and couples throughout Los Angeles, from the Eastside neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Highland Park, and El Sereno to Mid-City, Koreatown, and the Westside near Santa Monica and Culver City. My clients are often first-generation Latinas, professionals of color, and multicultural families managing careers, caregiving, and cultural expectations across one of the most demanding cities in the country. Virtual sessions are available across California, and my office at 4 Venture Suite 355, Irvine, CA 92618 welcomes clients who prefer to meet in person.
This is a city of two hundred languages and a thousand versions of success, where entertainment, healthcare, education near USC and UCLA, and family businesses all set their own relentless pace. My approach stays the same across every zip code: emotionally focused, culturally responsive, and grounded in attachment work. I also serve clients in surrounding communities including Glendale, Pasadena, Long Beach, Inglewood, and the San Fernando Valley, offering a steady space for people ready to trade coping for genuine healing.
Testimonials
Dama's approach to therapy is marked by empathy, insight, and a profound commitment to fostering positive change. I can confidently attest to her exceptional skills and unwavering dedication to the well-being of her clients.
Depression/Anxiety ~ Hyland & Associates
Dama is a colleague & a professional that truly cares about her clients & their therapeutic journey. She is highly skilled in Emotionally Focused Therapy helping individuals & couples navigate & strengthen their emotional connections within relationships.
Jan Covyeau
As a former US military officer, I can see Dama being a great therapist for active-duty members, families, and veterans. I confidently recommend clients to Dama because she cares and has clients' best interests in mind.
Angela Chwe

I'm Dama Perez, founder of Casa Therapy offering therapy in Los Angeles, CA
I walk alongside first-generation women of color who are tired of holding everything together alone. From Echo Park to the Westside, I offer online therapy where cultural identity is understood, not explained, and where emotional patterns finally get the depth of care they deserve.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use insurance for therapy?
I am currently an out-of-network provider. However, I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement. Many PPO plans offer partial reimbursement checks with your provider to confirm your benefits.
Do you offer a sliding scale?
Yes! I offer two sliding scale spots for clients with financial need. If cost is a concern, please reach out. I'm happy to discuss options during your consultation.
What does the therapy process look like?
We start with an intake session to explore your relationship history, communication patterns, and goals. From there, we’ll meet regularly to uncover deeper emotional patterns, build new tools for connection, and work toward the relationship you want to create. Therapy is always tailored to your unique story and pace.
What if I need to cancel or reschedule a session?
Life happens! I ask for at least 48 hours’ notice for cancellations or reschedules. Sessions canceled with less than 48 hours’ notice may be subject to the full session fee. No-shows or missed appointments without prior notice will be charged the full session rate, as that time is reserved specifically for you.
How does virtual therapy work?
Sessions are held through a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform. You’ll receive a private link before each session. All you need is a quiet and confidential space, a reliable internet connection, and a device with a camera and microphone.
What if I don’t feel like we’re a good fit?
It’s completely normal to wonder if therapy is the right match for you. Building trust and feeling comfortable with your therapist is essential for meaningful growth. If at any point you feel unsure about our connection or approach, please let me know. We can talk openly about it and decide together whether to adjust our work or explore other options. Your comfort and progress are my top priorities, and I’m here to support you every step of the way whether that means continuing together or helping you find the best path forward.
Good Faith Estimate (No Surprises Act)
This Good Faith Estimate shows the costs of services that are reasonably expected for the expected services to address your mental health care needs. The estimate is based on the information known to us when we did the estimate.
The Good Faith Estimate does not include any unknown or unexpected costs that may arise during treatment. You could be charged more if complications or special circumstances occur. If this happens, federal law allows you to dispute (appeal) the bill.
If you are billed for more than this Good Faith Estimate, you have the right to dispute the bill.
You may contact the contact listed above if billed charges are higher than the Good Faith Estimate. You can request an update to the bill to match the Good Faith Estimate, ask to negotiate the bill, or ask if there is financial assistance available.
You may also start a dispute resolution process with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). If you choose to use the dispute resolution process, you must start the dispute process within 120 calendar days (about 4 months) of the date on the original bill.
There is a $25 fee to use the dispute process. If the agency reviewing your dispute agrees with you, you will have to pay the price on this Good Faith Estimate. If the agency disagrees with you and agrees with the health care provider or facility, you will have to pay the higher amount.
To learn more and get a form to start the process, go to: www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call CMS at 1-800-985-3059.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate or the dispute process, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call CMS at 1-800-985-3059 .
This Good Faith Estimate is not a contract. It does not obligate you to accept the services listed above.