- Years in practice
- 16
- Credentials
- LMHC, LPCC
- Licensed in
- New York, Virginia, New Jersey, California, Utah
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Relationship issues
About Zaya
Zaya Kuykendall is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) practicing from California. She draws on 16 years in the helping field to guide people who feel stuck or overwhelmed. Zaya focuses on practical steps that help people reconnect with themselves and regain balance in daily life.
She listens for what matters most and helps clients clarify goals and priorities. Sessions emphasize emotional regulation, identifying feelings, and building personal strengths.
Background and approach
Zaya encourages openness and honest conversation so people can make steady progress. Her style blends several methods, with a strong emphasis on Gestalt ideas, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused work. That mix is used to offer support, feedback, and concrete strategies when people face obstacles.
She often helps clients gain closure on unfinished issues that keep them stuck. Zaya’s background includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling earned in 2004. Over the years she has developed experience with domestic violence, child development and parenting concerns, familial discord, women’s issues, and substance use challenges.
In sessions she aims for self-awareness and steady change rather than quick fixes. She frames therapy as treatment for mental wounds, helping people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and make a plan of care. The focus is on realistic steps that help clients move forward.
What Zaya works with
Everything Zaya lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Zaya helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- ADHD
Approaches that guide online parenting and life work
Gestalt-informed work focuses on awareness in the present moment and helps people notice patterns that affect relationships and parenting. It encourages trying new behaviors in-session so clients can see what feels different and useful for daily life.Motivational interviewing is a conversational way to strengthen motivation for change. It helps people weigh pros and cons, resolve mixed feelings, and move toward goals like better stress management or healthier habits.
Solution-focused techniques concentrate on small, practical steps and on what is already working. This approach is helpful when someone wants concrete strategies for parenting challenges, sleep or eating routines, or managing reactions to stress.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative process helps shape a plan that feels doable.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to stay connected. Video calls let people use visual cues during deeper conversations, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports quick check-ins, and text-based messaging works for brief reflections between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy parenting schedule and to keep momentum between meetings.
Questions people ask about Zaya
What concerns does Zaya commonly address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, relationship and intimacy-related issues, parenting concerns, grief, sleep and eating challenges, anger, self-esteem, career questions, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and coping with life changes.
What is her therapy style like?
Her approach is collaborative and practical. She combines Gestalt ideas, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused techniques to help people set goals and try manageable changes.
How much experience does she have?
She has 16 years working in the helping field and many years practicing as a psychotherapist.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds LMHC and LPCC credentials and practices in California.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging as session formats.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule based on the therapist's availability.
More therapists for parents in California
All in California
Moushumi Ghose
LMFT
California 23 years in practice
Intimacy and relationship-focused therapy
- LGBT
- Relationship
- Intimacy-related issues
Jeana De Lay
LMFT
California 17 years in practice
Practical therapy and parenting support
- Self esteem
- Career
- Stress, Anxiety
Yanina Lambert
LMFT
California 20 years in practice English, Spanish
Supportive therapist for parenting and relationships
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship
- Trauma and abuse