About Cheryl
Warm, direct, and genuinely curious about your life.
A therapist who works well with complexity — including the kind that comes with living between more than one culture or set of expectations.
Cheryl Perrell, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing virtual therapy to adults and couples throughout California. Her practice is for people who are thoughtful and attuned to others — and sometimes worn down by that — including first-generation and bicultural adults navigating the space between cultures, family expectations, and their own lives.
You don't have to translate yourself here. Therapy can happen in English, Spanish, or the mix that comes naturally to you. Sometimes the feeling comes out in English and the family story makes more sense en español. You can move between both as naturally as you need to.
Her approach is warm and direct. She doesn't pathologize the way you've learned to cope, and she doesn't assume every hard relationship is toxic or every strong reaction is trauma. Instead, she helps you understand where a pattern came from, what it's been doing for you, and whether you still want to carry it forward.
Cheryl is Gottman-trained for couples work and incorporates EMDR and DBT-informed approaches when they fit. Her approach is clinically informed without making therapy feel overly clinical. You're a person first, not a collection of symptoms.
What guides the work
The values behind the practice.
Not every uncomfortable feeling is a red flag. Not every difficult relationship is toxic. And knowing where a pattern came from doesn't mean you have to keep repeating it.
Complexity over labels
People are more nuanced than categories. The work makes room for that.
Pace that respects you
Healing doesn't have a timeline. We move at a pace that actually works for you.
Cultural awareness
Identity, culture, and family context are part of the picture — never the whole of it.
Honesty, gently
Truthful reflection, offered with care — not comfort for its own sake.
Training & credentials
Cheryl Perrell, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California (LCSW #105875) with advanced training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy, EMDR, and DBT-informed approaches.
Why Cheryl does this work
"I believe people deserve a space where they don't have to translate themselves before they're understood."