Dr. Laura Elena Espana, PhD

Beyond a doubt the WORST place for therapy. Laura Espana especially is awful. I've been struggling with depression for a while now and when I first went to Dr. Espana, I was excited to meet a therapist who was open to hearing me out and trying different things than I've tried before. That all changed on our last visit. We were talking about some things that happened in my past and when I didn't feel comfortable talking about something, she said something to the effect of "okay, our time is up then. I don't think this is working out" and ushered me out the door. I was floored. Not only because we still had time in the session, but because of how forcefully and rudely she pushed me away. After that, I was in a very, very dark place. Dr. Espana not only didn't help me, she actually made me feel worse. Luckily, I found an amazing therapist in Glendale and will hopefully never have to see Dr. Espana or anyone in the Dadoyan Medical Group again. I can't believe they're all still… practicing.

I would have thought that LISTENING would be the number one skill of a therapist. Dr. Espana fails at this. She has a "canned" therapy style or approach and lays it on you whether you fit into her paradigm. I saw her with my spouse. We tried repeatedly to explain our particular situation and all she heard were things that fit into her theoretical world view. If you happen to fit into that, maybe she would be helpful, but otherwise, look elsewhere for a compassionate and understanding theraptis.