Becoming in therapy
Maybe you’ve felt the exhaustion of trying to hold it all together, of wearing a mask so others won’t see what’s really happening inside. Maybe you’ve lost touch with your own needs, your own voice, your own sense of what brings you alive. Living this way can feel heavy, lonely, and endless.
To live fully as yourself is a brave and beautiful journey. Therapy is a space where you can lay down the masks, soften the defenses, and discover the truest version of you—one that has always been there, waiting to be seen. Becoming who you really are isn’t about fixing yourself—it’s about uncovering the wholeness that’s already inside you.
Art by Batuhan Yılmaz.
Welcome - I’m glad you’re here!
I’m Meryl, a somatic and holistic psychotherapist in Los Angeles. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#157502). I offer in-person and telehealth sessions for individuals and couples in California. I’m a French immigrant with a Jewish Tunisian background and I offer therapy in French and English.
I specialize in supporting adults, teens, and couples, through trauma, relationship challenges, identity exploration, motherhood, high-stress work environments, grief, anxiety and depression.
I am trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), have completed foundational training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), and am currently completing training in Somatic Experiencing® (SE). I have extensive experience supporting clients in community mental health clinics, private practice, and couples centers.
My Values
Irvin Yalom, renowned existential psychotherapist, said “the relationship itself is the key therapeutic factor. The client and therapist embark on a journey together, both changed by the process.” The therapeutic alliance is the most significant factor in the effectiveness of therapy. These are some values I hold in relationship to my clients:
We all deserve to be witnessed.
Sitting with people as they process and integrate their trauma, challenges, and life experiences is one of the deepest honors of my life. We are not meant to go through life alone—our joys and our pain deserve to be witnessed. My intention is to bring a grounding, compassionate presence that helps guide people through their experiences, no matter how overwhelming they may feel.
I am an active and engaged listener.
You won’t be talking to a blank wall. I show up with warmth, curiosity, and presence, asking thoughtful questions and offering reflections to help you feel seen. My hope is to collaborate in creating a therapeutic space where you can not only process challenges, but also discover strength, resilience, and new possibilities for yourself and your relationships.
I trust your inner healer.
We all carry wisdom and resilience within us. My role is to empower you to explore what works best for you, at your own pace. Whether you are working through trauma, navigating grief, or seeking to shift old patterns that no longer serve you, therapy can be a powerful place to listen deeply to yourself and discover new ways of being.
Your identities are welcome.
As a Jewish, bicultural immigrant, I understand how identity and lived experience shape the way we move through the world. If you share these identities, it can feel meaningful to sit with a therapist who “gets it” personally, and it doesn’t have to be. Cultural humility is at the core of my practice and I strive to create a space where people from all walks of life and identities are welcome. I approach each client with openness, curiosity, and respect their unique story.
Art by Batuhan Yılmaz.
The benefits of becoming
Embarking on the journey of becoming is a brave and challenging one! But, it’s a process that yields beautiful results. Many of my clients experience the following:
Relief. A place to exhale, where the nervous system can soften, pressure eases - not because everything is ‘fixed’, but because you’re no longer carrying it alone.
Change. Change unfolds organically as awareness grows and patterns become visible to you. New choices and pathways emerge.
Feeling understood. Listening to not only words but emotions, sensations and deeper meanings help you feel understood on a deeper level.
Not feeling alone. Emotional loneliness is very heavy. Weekly therapy is a consistent and attuned relationship where your inner world is met with care.
Not feeling judged. In therapy, nothing needs to be edited and masks can be dropped. There is room made for thoughts, feelings or experiences you’ve learned to minimize.
Feeling seen for all your parts. All the versions of you are welcome - perhaps that’s tender parts, confident parts, protective parts, exiled parts. We’ll see and seek to understand each of these parts.
Tools to carry with you. Ways to regulate your nervous system, set boundaries and relate differently to yourself will be offered. These are skills you can return to again and again.
Areas of Focus
Below are some of the communities and experiences I often support. You may see yourself reflected here — or you may not. My practice is open to people from many walks of life and identities, and I strive to create a space that feels affirming, culturally attuned, and grounded in genuine curiosity and care. If something here resonates with you, I invite you to reach out here to explore whether we might be a good fit.
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Trauma can linger long after an experience has passed, sometimes showing up as disconnection from yourself or your life, feeling activated by certain triggers, or losing a sense of steadiness in moments that feel bigger than they should. These are just a few of the ways it can unfold. I support trauma survivors in healing at a pace that feels safe and respectful. Using Somatic Experiencing®–informed and parts-based work, we gently help your nervous system settle and release stored survival responses without reliving painful memories, restoring a deeper sense of safety and connection.
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Feeling stuck, disconnected, or caught in the same painful cycle? I support people in romantic, platonic, and professional relationships to move from tension to deeper, more secure connection. Grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and informed by the work of Esther Perel, the Gottmans, and Nonviolent Communication, we slow down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and rebuild trust and closeness.
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Motherhood can be joyful — and overwhelming. I help mothers reclaim their needs, voice, and sense of self in a safe, compassionate space, building tools to feel grounded, present, and fully themselves.
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I support people moving through grief and loss with care and presence. Informed by both professional training and my own experience with grief, I offer a space to honor what’s been lost and gently integrate grief without rushing or minimizing it.
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I work with people who carry multiple personal, social, and cultural identities and feel the quiet strain of constant adaptation. Having grown up in a bicultural family and later immigrated to the United States, I bring lived understanding to this work — creating a space to explore identity, belonging, and resilience with warmth, nuance, and care.
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As a former lawyer and tech worker, I understand what pressure feels like. I support high-performing professionals using Somatic Experiencing®–informed and parts-based work to regulate stress, release stored tension, and create more clarity, balance, and ease.
Art by Grace Huebschmann.
“If your everyday practice is to open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing down, trusting that you can do that — then that will take you as far as you can go. And then you’ll understand all the teachings that anyone has ever taught.”
Let’s begin.
The first step to starting therapy is a free initial consultation call. This is a chance for us to get to know each other and see if we might be a good fit. During that call, I can also answer any questions you have about therapy.
Complete this form and I will reach out to you via email in approximately two business days. You can also email me at therapywithmeryl@gmail.com.