The performance has been flawless.
The calendar is full. The life is built.
Something offstage has been waiting to speak.
Therapy for anxiety, trauma, burnout, and OCD in Palo Alto and across California. For people who’ve been holding it together long enough that they’ve forgotten what it felt like not to.
When you are ready, this is where to begin.
We respond within 48 hours.
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Moitreyee Chowdhury
LMFT . LPCC . Founder
“Every inquiry is answered by a real person.”
LMFT & LPCC Licensed . EMDR. CBT. DBT. Family systems . English · Hindi · Bengali . In-Person Palo Alto . Telehealth California . CAMFT Member
Who Finds Their Way Here
The people who come to Leela have been fluent in every room but one.
This practice was built around a specific kind of story. From the outside, things look fine. More than fine, sometimes. The weight is real. It’s just not the kind anyone can see.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place. All backgrounds, cultures, genders, and identities are welcome here.
High-Achievers · Tech Professionals · The Bay Area
The burnout that lives underneath a life that looks, from every angle, completely fine.
It’s not the dramatic kind. It runs underneath everything. The hypervigilance, the inability to actually rest, the sense that stopping would mean losing something you can’t quite name. The work is still getting done. That’s exactly the problem. Something has been accumulating. You already know this. Otherwise you wouldn’t be reading it.
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South Asian · East Asian · Desi · Immigrant · Collectivist Families
The weight your parents carried, and what it cost you to inherit it.
Leela Mental Health was founded by a South Asian therapist who holds the particular story of South Asian and East Asian families in the Bay Area. If your family’s story is part of why you’re here, you don’t have to start from scratch. The pressure, the migration, the cost of being the one who keeps it together across two countries. That context is already here. You won’t spend your sessions on backstory.
College Students · Young Adults · Emerging Professionals
Growing up between cultures, between expectations, between selves.
Leela Mental Health works with college students and young adults in the middle of becoming. Being in your twenties is genuinely hard, even when you can’t explain why. Especially when the life you’re building doesn’t quite match the one that was planned. Asking for help isn’t falling behind. It’s just being honest about where you actually are.
If something here sounded familiar, that’s enough to start.
What Brings People to Leela
Anxiety & Burnout
The kind that lives underneath a life that looks completely fine. The hypervigilance. The inability to rest. The feeling that stopping means failing.
02
Trauma & EMDR
For the things that left a mark, even when the world expected you to be over it by now. EMDR works differently from regular talk therapy. It goes to where the memory actually lives, not just the story you’ve told about it.
OCD & Rumination
The thoughts that loop. The rituals that promised relief. The exhaustion of trying to think your way out of something that isn’t about thinking.
04
ADHD & Focus
For people who were told they weren’t trying hard enough, when the truth was the world wasn’t built for how their brain works. That’s a different problem. It needs a different approach.
05
Fertility & Grief
The emotional weight of fertility treatment rarely gets space. This is that space. No timelines. No expectation that you hold it together.
06
Family & Culture
Two cultures, two sets of rules, two versions of who you’re supposed to be. At some point the work becomes figuring out which parts of that you actually want to keep.
The name comes from Sanskrit: leela — life as enacted authorship. Not something that happens to you. Something you write, moment by moment, from exactly where you are standing
Moitreyee Chowdhury started Leela because she kept seeing the same thing. People who were clearly carrying something and had nowhere to put it down.
She trained as a fine artist in Delhi, moved through stage design and puppetry across Germany and California, taught therapy at Palo Alto University, and built wellness programs for communities mainstream care had not reached. Her poetry and art have always turned toward the immigrant journey — toward what gets said sideways when it can’t be said directly. That background informs every session.
She doesn’t use one method for everything. EMDR, CBT, DBT, Family Systems. The approach depends on what’s actually going on, not what’s easiest to apply.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT 121934) · Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC 9238) · EMDR Trained · Sessions in English, Hindi, and Bengali.
Therapy here is not about being fixed. It is about having enough room to find out what you actually think, and what comes next.
The work
01
Clinically Rigorous
Anxiety, trauma, burnout, OCD, ADHD, fertility-related distress, intergenerational patterns, identity. Each one calls for something different. Leela uses EMDR, CBT, DBT, and Family Systems. The method is chosen for the person. Not assigned in advance.
02
The whole story is held here.
Family pressure, immigration grief, the experience of being queer in a family that hasn’t caught up yet. Whatever it is, we’re not going to assume we already know your version of it. We approach with genuine curiosity.
03
In the language it happened in.
Many clients who come to Leela carry things that took shape in a specific cultural and emotional language, one that doesn’t always translate directly. We work with the context. Hindi and Bengali are available when they’re needed. What is always available is a room where the whole story fits.
04
Care that isn’t rushed.
Leela Mental Health is in-network with Lyra and Wellfleet SHIP, and provides superbills for out-of-network insurance reimbursement. A careful caseload. A practice where every client is actually known. The work here is specific to you, and it is not hurried.
The questions people ask before they let themselves reach out.
Do you work with anxiety and burnout?
Yes. Mostly the kind that doesn’t announce itself. The calendar is full, the work is getting done, and something is still wrong. That specific thing, the high-functioning version of not being okay, is what a lot of the work here is about. We offer therapy for anxiety and burnout in Palo Alto and via telehealth across California using EMDR, CBT, and DBT.
Do you work with trauma — including intergenerational and immigration trauma?
Yes. Especially the kind that doesn’t call itself trauma. It shows up as perfectionism, or not being able to let anyone down, or carrying something from your family that nobody ever actually talked about. EMDR works well here. It gets to where the experience is stored, not just the narrative around it. We offer trauma therapy in Palo Alto and via telehealth across California for trauma, intergenerational trauma, and immigration grief.
Do you work with OCD, ADHD, or fertility-related stress?
Are you a South Asian therapist — and do you offer therapy in Hindi or Bengali?
Yes. Leela Mental Health was founded by Moitreyee Chowdhury, a South Asian therapist based in Palo Alto. Sessions are available in English, Hindi, and Bengali.
Some people find this practice specifically looking for a South Asian therapist. Some are looking for Hindi or Bengali sessions. Some just want a therapist in Palo Alto who already understands the cultural context without needing it explained first. All of that is here.
Do you accept insurance — and what about Medicare?
Leela Mental Health is an opted-out provider for Medicare. The practice is not contracted with Medicare, and Medicare will not reimburse you for sessions here. If you are a Medicare beneficiary and would like to work together, a private contract is required before services begin. If you are unsure whether any of this applies to you, reach out — there is no wrong question to ask before the first conversation.
Do you offer telehealth therapy in California?
How do I get started?
Fill in the form or send an email. Someone will get back to you within 48 hours, a real person, not an automated reply. No paperwork before the call. No commitment after it. If it turns out we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so and try to point you somewhere that is.
Ready When You Are
This is your scene. You get to write what comes next.
Good Faith Estimate: If you are paying out of pocket or not using insurance, you have the right to a written Good Faith Estimate before your first session. Read the full notice ➞
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Check what your plan may cover.
– Estimates only. Results are preliminary. Actual reimbursement depends on your deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, and coinsurance rate. Confirm with your insurer.
– Leela does not bill insurers. Clients receive a superbill and submit claims independently. Reimbursement is never guaranteed.
– Not a Good Faith Estimate. Separate from the GFE required under the No Surprises Act. Read the GFE notice →
– CPT codes on request. Not published publicly. Call (650) 206-9448 or email information@leelamentalhealth.com
– Third-party tool. Provided by Thrizer, Inc. Leela does not receive information you enter. Thrizer’s privacy policy.
– California only. Licensed professionals. Out-of-state plans may not cover California-licensed services.
Disclaimer: Some content on this page was developed with AI assistance and reviewed by a licensed clinician.
This is your scene. You get to write what comes next.
Bay Area: Bay Area cities (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland etc.)
Southern California: Los Angeles · San Diego · Irvine · Central Valley & Beyond: Available statewide via telehealth
© 2026 Leela Mental Health, Family Therapy Corporation. All rights reserved. Therapy services are provided within California only, by licensed mental health professionals or by registered associates under licensed supervision. This practice is for ongoing, scheduled care — not crisis response. If you are in immediate distress, please call or text 988 or call 911. You do not have to be alone in it.