Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisa Perera.
Hi Marisa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a young child, I used to tell my parents I wanted to be a therapist… not because I knew what therapy was, but because I imagined sitting in cozy rooms with couches and soft chairs and talking with others. Somehow, that playful moment turned out to be prophetic. Fast forward and I am a clinical psychologist dedicated to transforming how we understand and care for mental health, especially for women.
My path began at the University of Michigan and then brought me to Miami for a PhD at the University of Miami, where I discovered my passion for exploring the intersection of mind and body. I became fascinated by how our thoughts, emotions, and physiology intertwine.
Early in my career, I was drawn to global maternal and child health. I kept wondering… half the world’s population lives in bodies with female reproductive organs and experience things like menstruation, infertility, pregnancy, endometriosis, PCOS and menopause that bodies with male organs don’t experience in the same way. So, why aren’t we talking more about how these experiences shape mental health? Despite getting to be a part of incredible research and learning in areas like stress, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, I felt the conversation around female mind-body health was still missing. I wanted to change that. In every training setting, I asked to see any woman who walked through the clinic door. That focus eventually led me to one of the few premier reproductive mental health fellowships at the time at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
This focus became my mission and inspired me to found Natal Counseling, a reproductive psychology practice in Coral Gables, staffed entirely by expert reproductive psychologists. Our mission is simple: clients shouldn’t have to explain the nuances of infertility, pregnancy loss, or postpartum transitions to get the support they deserve. We already understand and offer a place where women can feel truly seen in the full complexity of their unique mind-body experience. We aim to create the kind of being seen that unlocks healing and growth extending far beyond the reproductive journey and lasts a lifetime.
Beyond the therapy room, I’ve been driven to make high-quality mental health support more accessible. I’ve worked with and advised several mental health technology companies, bridging clinical expertise with digital innovation to develop meaningful mental health tools and platforms. Most recently, I founded Liora Mind, a company dedicated to providing emotional education and resources for people navigating the stress of infertility.
At every step, my goal has remained the same: to create spaces where women can feel fully seen, understood, and supported through each of their deeply human experiences.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been a straight or simple road, rather it’s one I have had to carve out myself and often without a clear map to follow. When I began, there were very few people or programs doing the kind of work I envisioned. So much of health research and care has long centered on male bodies, and I found myself constantly asking, what about women?
One of the greatest challenges has been advocating, again and again, for why this focus matters. It has meant starting conversations in rooms where a particular women’s health topic wasn’t yet getting attention and, at times, building entirely new spaces to ask whether our systems are truly meeting women’s needs.
Another challenge, though one I’ve come to love, has been learning how to innovate beyond traditional models. Working at the intersection of reproductive mental health and technology has required constant creativity and experimentation. It’s been deeply rewarding to help shape what better, more compassionate care could look like for women everywhere.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am known for my work as a reproductive mental health leader, both in the therapy room and in the digital mental health space. My specialty is reproductive mental health, which means I can focus on how experiences like menstrual cycles, infertility, pregnancy loss, postpartum, and menopause transitions shape emotional well-being. What sets my work apart is not only the depth of clinical training behind it, but also the way I bring that expertise into digital innovation to expand access to compassionate, evidence-based care. In the therapy room, I focus entirely on the person across from me to bring them the highest standard of personalized care tailored to their unique circumstances and desires.
I am incredibly proud of Natal Counseling, where our team has supported countless women across South Florida over the past few years. I love the South Florida community and our clients often tell us they haven’t just returned to feeling like themselves but rather they have grown beyond what they imagined possible for all areas of their lives.
It is an honor to do this work, and I don’t take any of it lightly. Everything I build, whether through therapy or technology, is crafted with genuine passion and in close collaboration with the people I aim to serve.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is that there isn’t always a clear path, and that’s not only okay but can be a gift if your gut really wants you to follow it. It has taught me to stay creative and curious, to keep imagining new ways to advance and improve how I show up for each woman I work with and in how we care for women’s mental health as a society. The lack of a clear path to follow has become its own kind of freedom to build what doesn’t yet exist for women.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.natalcounseling.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisaperera/
- Other: https://www.lioramind.com/
