Couples Therapy in Pasadena, CA | Marriage Counseling
Some relationships are held together by tradition long after tenderness has gone missing. I provide emotionally focused, culturally attuned couples therapy in Pasadena, CA for first generation Latinas, multicultural partners, and professionals of color who honor family, legacy, and commitment yet feel increasingly alone inside their own marriage. This is a practice for people who keep every promise except the ones they made to themselves.
Craftsman porches in Bungalow Heaven, jacaranda streets near the Huntington, labs at Caltech and JPL, and the crowds that fill the Rose Bowl on game days give this corner of the San Gabriel Valley its particular character. Many of my clients grew up in multigenerational households nearby, in Altadena, San Marino, Alhambra, or along the 210 corridor, and still orbit those kitchens every weekend. I see clients virtually across California and in person at my Irvine office.
A city this rooted in heritage can make change feel like betrayal. Partners here often inherit standards along with recipes: achieve quietly, argue never, and represent the family well. Couples choose this practice because it respects what they come from while helping them build a marriage that feels chosen rather than performed.
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
Some couples have not fought in years, and that is exactly the problem. The calendar is synchronized, the household runs, the holidays rotate correctly between families, and the emotional temperature sits just above freezing.
Couple therapy near you warms that air slowly and safely. Partners often rediscover curiosity about each other, the kind that got buried under roles, routines, and years of unspoken scorekeeping.
We examine the pursuit and withdrawal beneath your patterns, the needs each of you stopped voicing, and the repair skills that turn conflict into closeness. Love that has lasted this long deserves to feel alive, not just intact.
Being the family's pride can be its own kind of cage. The diploma on the wall, the respectable career, the composure at every gathering, and underneath it a person who has not felt truly known in years.
In individual therapy near you, the composure gets to come off. Clients often describe relief at saying aloud what they have rehearsed silently for a decade: the doubts, the resentments, the dreams that got filed under someday.
Our work often untangles duty from desire, examines the inherited rules about worth and sacrifice, and rebuilds a relationship with yourself that does not depend on constant performance.
In a community that prizes excellence, anxiety wears a respectable disguise. It looks like triple checking, overpreparing, staying late, and calling it standards while your stomach stays in knots from Colorado Boulevard to the office and back.
Anxiety therapy near you helps you separate genuine care from chronic alarm. Clients frequently report thinking more clearly, sleeping more deeply, and discovering that excellence survives even when panic retires.
Together we trace where the pressure began, often generations back, and practice new responses to the fear of falling short. The goal is a mind that motivates you without menacing you.
Marrying into a family with deep roots means marrying their expectations too. Between whose church, whose neighborhood, whose traditions, and whose definition of a good spouse, two people can lose their own voice before the vows.
Premarital counseling near you returns the microphone to the couple. You will talk honestly about money, family boundaries, culture, faith, children, and the private agreements that actually hold marriages together.
Couples leave with fewer illusions and more confidence, having practiced the exact conversations that most marriages postpone until they hurt.
Grief in a legacy family is complicated. You are mourning a person and also a role, a language, a kitchen, a version of every future holiday. Meanwhile the family may prefer strength to sorrow, leaving you to cry in parking lots.
Grief counseling near you receives the whole unedited experience. The sadness and the relief, the faith and the fury, the memories that comfort and the ones that sting.
Over time, sessions help the loss settle into your story with dignity, so remembering costs less and means more.
Immigration Evaluations are offered for individuals and families in Pasadena, CA whose immigration cases require psychological documentation, including asylum, extreme hardship, VAWA, and cancellation of removal. If you are searching for immigration evaluations near you, this is a structured, compassionate process that treats your story with precision and respect from the first conversation to the final report.
I serve first-generation women of color in Pasadena, CA
I provide therapy to individuals and couples across Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, including Altadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Alhambra, Arcadia, and Monrovia. Many clients are first-generation professionals and multicultural couples balancing careers near Caltech, JPL, Old Pasadena, or downtown Los Angeles with deep family commitments closer to home. Sessions are virtual throughout California, and my office at 4 Venture Suite 355, Irvine, CA 92618 welcomes clients who prefer meeting in person.
This is a community where history matters, from the Rose Parade route along Colorado Boulevard to century old craftsman homes, and where families often measure themselves against generations of expectation. My approach stays emotionally focused, culturally responsive, and grounded in attachment work, offering steady care to residents seeking depth rather than quick fixes.
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 Pasadena, CA
I work with first-generation women of color who carry their family's dreams and their own quiet exhaustion. Whether your week runs through Old Town, Caltech, or the 210, I offer online therapy where legacy is honored and your inner life finally gets tended.
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.
