Lauren Perez smiling for a picture outside in nature

MEET LAUREN PEREZ!

Adhd & Autism Therapist for women & moms

Hi, I’m Lauren, LMFT

You don’t need to try harder. You need support that actually works with your brain.

I work with women and moms who are used to looking capable on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, or like they’re constantly falling behind on the inside.

Many of my clients discovered their ADHD or autism later in life. Others are self-realized, questioning, or simply starting to wonder neurodivergence might explain why certain parts of life have always required so much effort.

Motherhood can make all of this even launder. The sensory overload. The executive functioning demands. The guilt. the invisible mental load. The feeling that everyone needs something from you when you are already running on empty.

You don’t need a formal diagnosis to work with me.

Therapy that works with you.

My approach is warm, collaborative, practical, and neurodivergence-affirming. I’m not here to teach you to mask better or give you another list of things you should be doing.

Together, we can understand what’s underneath the overwhelm, make sense of patters you may have spent years judging yourself for, and find strategies that actually fit your life and your brain.

I draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS), trauma-informed therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy and executive-functioning support, but I don’t believe therapy should feel like a clinical formula.

You can show up scattered, exhausted, unsure where to start, or with seventeen things you have been waiting all week to tell me.

There’s room for all of it.

Overlook at Big Sur, California

Less Masking. More you.

I’ve been a therapist for over a decade, but I’m also a mom and a real person outside of the therapy room. I know how full life can get and how easy it is for your own needs to end up at the bottom of the list.

My style as a therapist is warm, conversational, curious and practical. I believe there’s room in therapy for the hard studs, but also for humor, tangents, unfinished thoughts, and showing up exactly as you are that day.

I’m less interested in helping you become “better” at keeping up with the impossible expectations and much more interested in helping you understand yourself, trust yourself, and build a life that actually feels sustainable.

You don’t have to have everything figured out before you come in.

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Schedule a Consultation
Simple graphic illustration of a green leaf with two smaller leaves branching out.

‍ ‍Experience matters. So does feeling understood.

I’ve spent more than a decade helping people navigate anxiety, trauma, overwhelm, and the parts of themselves they’ve spent years trying to understand. Today, my work is especially focused on ADHD and autistic women and moms, including those who were diagnosed later in life, are self-identified or self-realized, and those are still figuring it all out.

I bring clinical experience to the room, but I also bring curiosity, humor, and a genuine respect for the expert on your life: you.

education & experience

Certifications & Trainings

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed

    Certified Trauma Therapist

    EMDR Level 1 & 2

    Registered Yoga Instructor

    Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

degrees

  • California State University, San Marcos

    Deans List, Graduate 2009

  • California State University, Fullerton

    Honors Society, Graduate 2013

Licensure

  • Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
    in California & Oregon

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