In-Person in Pasadena, CA 91101
Online in California
Even with insight and past therapy, you may still feel caught in patterns that leave you depleted—overextending yourself, avoiding conflict, striving to get everything “right,” or feeling disconnected in your relationships and from your own body. At some point, coping strategies that once protected you can begin to feel constricting.
In our work together, we delve into the deeper emotional and relational roots of these patterns. I bring 18 years of direct experience into the room, helping clients cultivate greater clarity, steadiness, confidence, and self-trust so they can move through relationships with more authenticity and assertion. My approach integrates experiential and depth-oriented therapies—including psychodynamic psychotherapy, ISTDP, EMDR, Brainspotting, and EFT—to support meaningful, lasting change at both the emotional, physiological and spiritual levels.
I see this work as especially important in a society that often prizes productivity over presence and autonomy over connection. By questioning dominant cultural narratives and inherited systems of disconnection, therapy can become a space for reclaiming connection, dignity, and care—within ourselves and across differences.
It is a privilege to accompany clients into their most tender and defended places. I trust that through this process, you can cultivate deeper self-understanding, greater inner coherence, and a more grounded sense of safety and belonging—within yourself and in the relationships that matter most.
Client Focus
Session Format: Couple, Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult, Teen, Young Adult
Demographic Expertise: LGBTQ+, Middle Eastern, Women clients.
Languages: English
Treatment Approach
- Brainspotting A therapy that uses eye positions to access and process unresolved trauma. It helps release emotional and physical pain held in the body.
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Focuses on strengthening emotional bonds in couples or families. It helps people identify negative cycles and create more secure connections.
- Experiential Therapy Involves hands-on activities to bring emotions into the present moment. It helps clients process feelings more deeply than through conversation alone.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) A structured therapy that uses guided eye movements to help process traumatic memories. It is widely recognized for treating PTSD and trauma-related conditions.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) Helps clients heal by working with different ‘parts’ of themselves, like inner critics or wounded children. It fosters harmony within the self.
- Object Relations Therapy Focuses on how early caregiver relationships shape current relationships. It aims to improve patterns of attachment and trust.
- Psychodynamic Therapy Explores unconscious thoughts and patterns that influence current behavior. It builds insight into how the past impacts the present.
Approach Description: My style is relational, attuned, and engaged. I bring curiosity, warmth, and thoughtful directness into the room—along with humor when it serves the work. Therapy with me is collaborative and compassionate, but not passive. I gently challenge clients to examine the internal tensions and protective patterns that keep them stuck, and I support their capacity to move toward meaningful change.
I hold the body as an essential part of the therapeutic process, recognizing it as a living archive of emotional experience. By integrating somatic awareness, we attend not only to words, but to what is communicated beneath them.
Education & Credentials
Mona Saba Valeriano LCSW
- Female
- License # 27612
- Licensed in California
- Practicing Since 2008
Education: Bachelors of Art in Communication and Psychology from USC in 2004 and a Masters of Social Work, from USC (2008). 30- week training in Eating Disorders at LAISPS; 1 year certification in analysis at LAISPS; advanced training in EMDR, Brainspotting, EFT, and ISTDP.
Finances
Fees
- Average Session Fee 265
- Affordable sliding scale therapy: apply if you may be eligible.
- I offer sliding scale on a case by case basis. I also have associates in my practice who can work with clients who are needing a lower scale of service. Whatever financial situation you are in, we are eager to find a way to support you.
- Out of Network
Mona Saba Valeriano Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
- Available In-Person in Pasadena, CA 91101
- Available Online for residents of California
- Online Therapy Details: Online Therapy is provided through Simple Practice