Therapy for People of Color in Los Angeles

For a lot of clients of color, therapy can be complex to navigate as you seek a provider who might understand the cultural or racial context you live in. As a therapist of color in Los Angeles, I take that context as clinical material from the start. I see clients in person in Northeast Los Angeles, serving Altadena, Pasadena, Highland Park, and Downtown LA, and online across California.

Cultural context as clinical material

Racial stress, the demands of predominantly white spaces, the weight of family and generational expectation, the steady cost of code-switching: for people of color, all of this shapes mental health. Here, it belongs in the clinical picture from the first session.

Common focus areas

• Anxiety, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to over-perform
• Racial stress and the cumulative effects of discrimination
• Intergenerational patterns that protect and constrain at once
• Identity and belonging across more than one cultural world
• Depression, trauma, and grief

Approach

Our work is psychodynamic; it looks at where present patterns began, including the ones handed down through families and generations. It's body-centered and somatic too, because cultural stress and trauma register physically before they register as thought. The stance is relational and non-pathologizing so that difference is engaged as part of the work. The aim is a clearer, steadier relationship with the self.

What to expect

The first contact is a short consultation. Intake covers personal and family history, cultural and migration background where it's relevant, and what brings you in. Cultural material gets woven into the formulation from the beginning. Sessions are usually weekly, in person or online.

Frequently asked questions

Does a therapist need to share my exact background to help? What matters most is that your specific experience is taken seriously and understood as relevant. Shared or adjacent experience does cut down some of the explaining, though; that's part of why people look for a therapist of color.

Is this only for processing racism? No. Clients of color come in for the whole range: anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma, transitions. Sometimes we don't even touch the topic of race or identity. Racial and cultural experience comes up when it's relevant.

Do you see clients outside Los Angeles? Yes; online therapy is open to clients anywhere in California.

Fees and insurance? I charge $200 per 50-minute session for individuals. A limited number of sliding scale spots are available.

I do not take insurance but I can provide superbills for you to submit for reimbursement.

Free 15-minute consultation: 818-925-8623 or yasmin@yasminsauditherapy.com.

Yasmin Saudi, MSW, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker #141050