Therapist profile
Zaya Kuykendall, LMHC, LPCC
LMHC LPCC - Relationships and Parenting
Continue with ZayaAbout
- Gestalt influenced
- Motivational interviewing
- Solution focused
About Zaya
Zaya Kuykendall is a licensed mental health counselor and licensed professional clinical counselor (LMHC, LPCC) practicing in California with 16 years of experience. She focuses on everyday strains at home and in relationships, including stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, addiction, trauma and grief. Zaya writes that she helps people reconnect with themselves, regulate emotions, and set clear goals and priorities.
She describes a collaborative style. Sessions involve talking through current concerns, sharing ideas, and deciding practical next steps together. Zaya emphasizes openness and honesty so conversations can be steady and straightforward rather than rushed.
Her approach is eclectic with notable influences from Gestalt, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused therapy. She uses support and feedback to help people identify emotions, clear unfinished business, and build personal strengths. That can look like planning concrete steps, practicing new ways to respond, or reviewing progress each session.
Her training includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling. Over more than a decade as a practicing psychotherapist she developed experience with domestic violence, child development and parenting, family discord, women’s issues, and substance abuse. These areas inform how she frames problems and practical goals.
She has provided individual, group, family, couples, and e-therapy in past roles. If you want to explore everyday relationship strain, parenting pressures, or emotional overwhelm, she helps people notice patterns and make manageable changes.
How sessions work
Therapeutic approaches and how they fit online
Gestalt-influenced work focuses on awareness in the present moment. It helps people notice patterns in how they react and name emotions as they arise, which can clarify choices and next steps. Motivational interviewing centers on drawing out a person’s own reasons for change and boosts commitment to practical goals, often through short goal-setting conversations.Solution-focused methods concentrate on small, doable steps and clear outcomes. Sessions using this approach tend to be action-oriented and useful for people who want concrete strategies to try between meetings. Together these approaches aim to identify manageable changes and check progress over time in a practical way.
Choosing the right approach is part of the process. The therapist works collaboratively to match methods to your needs, goals, and preferences and adjusts the plan as you try things and report back. That means initial sessions often include time to agree what to focus on and what will be useful in day-to-day life.
The biography notes experience with e-therapy but does not list current session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make scheduling easier by fitting sessions into busy days, reducing travel time, and allowing shorter check-ins when that suits you. It can also let you use different communication rhythms as you and the therapist find what helps most.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Experience
16+ years
Listed in
New York, Virginia, New Jersey, California, Utah
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with at home?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship strain, parenting challenges, grief, trauma, addiction, sleep and eating concerns, and related issues.
How would she describe her therapy style?
She uses a collaborative, conversational approach. Sessions focus on sharing ideas, giving feedback, and deciding practical next steps together.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 16 years of experience in the helping field and over ten years as a practicing psychotherapist.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds LMHC and LPCC credentials and practices in California.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
The original biography mentions e-therapy in past practice but does not list current formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule your first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.