Services
Therapy here is one-on-one, collaborative, and built around you. Whether we meet in person in Los Angeles or online, the work is the same: understanding what's beneath the surface while building practical tools for real-life change.
Your mind is always running: replaying conversations, rehearsing worst-case scenarios, scanning for what could go wrong. You might look calm on the outside while your chest stays tight. Sleep is hard. Decisions are harder. Even rest doesn't feel restful.
We'll start by mapping how anxiety actually operates in your life: the thoughts, body sensations, and avoidance patterns that keep the cycle going. Using CBT-based tools, you'll learn to catch and challenge the thinking that fuels the spiral, while the deeper work helps you understand where the vigilance came from in the first place.
Clients often describe more mental quiet, faster recovery when stress hits, and the ability to make decisions without exhausting themselves first. Anxiety doesn't disappear; it stops running the show.
A relationship ended, a career shifted, a chapter closed, and the ground hasn't come back yet. Even changes you chose can leave you grieving the life you thought you were building, unsure who you are without it.
Transitions need two things: room to grieve and a way forward. We'll make space for the loss without rushing it, then begin rebuilding, clarifying what you want this next chapter to look like and what patterns from the last one are worth leaving behind.
The goal isn't to get over it faster. It's to move through it honestly, so the next chapter is built on intention rather than avoidance, and so old relationship patterns don't quietly follow you into new ones.
There's a gap between who you are and who you've felt pressured to be, by family, culture, religion, or your own inner critic. Maybe you're exploring your sexuality or gender, navigating cultural or racial identity, or simply tired of shrinking yourself to keep others comfortable.
This is a space to explore identity without judgment or agenda. My practice is LGBTQ+ affirming and culturally responsive. We can look at how family expectations, cultural messages, and old shame shaped your sense of self, and start separating what's genuinely yours from what was handed to you.
Clients describe feeling more at home in themselves: speaking up where they used to stay quiet, setting boundaries without guilt, and trading self-criticism for something closer to self-respect.
The same argument keeps happening with different people. You over-give, then resent it. You avoid conflict, then explode. Or you find yourself drawn to relationships that repeat something painfully familiar.
As a marriage and family therapist, I look at problems through a relational lens, even in individual therapy. We'll trace your patterns back to where they were learned, understand what they were originally protecting, and practice new ways of communicating, setting boundaries, and choosing partners and friendships.
Healthier conflict, clearer boundaries, and relationships that feel reciprocal instead of draining, starting with the one you have with yourself.
You start three things and finish none of them. Time slips away, deadlines sneak up, and the to-do list in your head never quiets down. Maybe you've been called lazy or careless your whole life, when the truth is your brain is working hard just to keep up, and you're exhausted from the effort it takes to look effortless.
We'll start by understanding how your particular brain works, because ADHD looks different in everyone. Rather than forcing systems built for other people, we'll build practical strategies that fit you, for focus, follow-through, time, and overwhelm. We'll also work on the layer underneath: the shame, self-doubt, and anxiety that often come from years of feeling like you're falling short.
Clients describe getting more of the right things done with less self-punishment, and finally understanding that they were never broken or lazy. The goal isn't to become a different person; it's to stop fighting your own wiring and start working with it.
Sessions are available in person at my Los Angeles office on Willoughby Avenue, or online through secure, HIPAA-compliant video. Telehealth sessions are the same 50-minute, one-on-one work. Many clients find them easier to keep consistent, with no commute and no waiting room.
Vela Psychotherapy offers telehealth (online video) sessions to clients located in California, Arizona, and Utah. To receive services, you must be physically located in California, Arizona, or Utah at the time of your session. State licensing laws prohibit providing therapy to individuals located in states where the provider is not licensed. If you travel or relocate outside these states, please notify your therapist in advance so options can be discussed.
Before beginning telehealth services, you will be asked to review and sign a telehealth informed consent, which describes the benefits, limitations, and risks of teletherapy; the secure technology used; privacy protections; emergency procedures specific to your location; and alternatives to telehealth care. Verbal or written consent to telehealth is obtained and documented in your clinical record before your first telehealth session, as required by California, Arizona, and Utah law.
Telehealth sessions are conducted on encrypted, HIPAA-compliant video platforms. Sessions are never recorded without your separate written consent.
A brief phone call to talk about what's bringing you in, answer your questions, and see if we're a good fit. No pressure, no commitment.
We'll explore your story, what you're carrying, and what you want to be different. Together we'll identify patterns, strengths, and goals for the work.
Weekly 50-minute sessions, with the pace and focus adjusted as you grow. As momentum builds, most clients begin to experience greater clarity, insight, and relief.
That's normal. Most people come in with some mix of all of them. Start with a free 15-minute consultation and we'll figure out the rest together.
Schedule a Free Consultation Or call (424) 262-2979