
Maya Zhai
MA, AMFT
I work with children, teens, young adults, and adults, supporting anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, and relationships.
I work with children, teens, and adults navigating challenges such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions, as well as those feeling stuck or lost and seeking a deeper sense of clarity and self-understanding. My hope is to co-create a space where all parts of you feel welcome, and where your experiences can be explored at your own pace with curiosity, care, and compassion.
My approach is grounded in cultural humility and collaboration, and I work from a relational, strengths-based, and trauma-informed lens. I draw from an eclectic mix of modalities, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Gestalt, humanistic, psychodynamic, somatic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). I hold a holistic lens that honors each person and family’s unique lived experiences, while also acknowledging the broader societal, cultural, and historical systems that impact our sense of self, safety, and meaning-making. My intention is for therapy to be a space of exploration, play, growth, and reconnection—where unhelpful narratives can be untangled, awareness can be cultivated, and agency can be reclaimed in ways that feel aligned with your values.
Areas of Focus:
• Depression and anxiety
• Relationship issues, family dynamics, intergenerational patterns
• Trauma
• Identity exploration and life transitions
• Asian-American / BIPOC populations
• Children, adolescents, young adults, adults
Approach & Style:
• Relational and Humanistic
• Parts work / IFS-informed
• Gestalt and experiential approaches
• Psychodynamic and attachment-based
• Somatic awareness and mindfulness
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Brainspotting (Level 1 trained)
Credentials:
• Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #156523
• Supervised by Erin Williams-McNish, LMFT #103875
• B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Los Angeles
• M.A. in Integral Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies
I am allied with: LGBTQIA+, Neurodiversity, Disability, Consensual Non-Monogamy/Polyamory
