Find a therapist in Sebastopol, CA — covered by insurance

LMFT, MA in Counseling Psychology from CIIS

Somatic oriented, Humanistic

I strive to create a comfortable environment where you feel safe to be your true self. Im here as a trusted partner that you can confide in, but also to challenge you and help you grow. I often will give you homework/activities /reflections/ to focus on in-between sessions.

People say I am a good listener so I will get to know you and the goals you bring to therapy

Welcome—glad you made it here!

I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with experience in crisis mental health and private practice. I help adults and adolescents work through anxiety, stress, trauma, and relationship challenges. I understand the impact of high-stress roles where you’re expected to stay in control, even when things build up over time. My style is direct, grounded, and focused on what actually works in real life. I provide a space where you can be honest, feel understood, and be challenged in a way that leads to real change.

Starting therapy can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to figure it out alone. I’m Maria Zavala, a Bilingual/Bicultural Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in California. I offer a warm, supportive space where you can show up exactly as you are. I work with individuals navigating stress, life transitions, identity exploration, and emotional challenges, with a strong focus on culturally responsive care. My goal is to help you feel seen, understood, grounded, and safe while we gently explore what’s been weighing on you and begin creating a path forward that feels authentic, steady, and truly yours.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected—whether from past trauma, grief, or relationship challenges—you’re not alone, and change is possible. I specialize in working with adolescents and adults of all ages who are navigating trauma, relational rupture, and loss.

Are you tired of feeling stuck in the same cycles of anxiety, depression, or conflict that keep you from feeling truly present in your life? I help individuals and couples who are ready for change—whether you're navigating mood disorders, relationship struggles, or intense family issues. With a strong background in anger management and addressing complex topics like sexual disorders, I offer a safe, confidential space to work through challenges. As a parent and a grandmother, and having served as a child custody mediator, I bring a wealth of real-world experience to issues like co-parenting and visitation planning. I also specialize in empowering women who are survivors of domestic violence, helping you move from a place of survival to one of strength and stability. Let's work together to create the sustainable change you deserve.

As a mature therapist with more than 35 years of experience, I bring both professional expertise and the wisdom that comes from a lifetime of helping people navigate life's challenges. I have extensive experience working with anxiety, trauma, grief, relationship difficulties, and life transitions.

I believe that every person has the capacity to heal and grow. I work comfortably with people from diverse cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic backgrounds and strive to create a warm, respectful environment where clients feel safe, heard, and genuinely understood. I love my work and consider it a privilege to walk alongside people as they create healthier, more meaningful lives.

For the past 20 years, I've worked across private practices, youth development centers, schools, and mental health clinics. My passion is to work with adults navigating major life transitions. Whether you are a college student or approaching retirement, my hope is to walk alongside you during this time of change and uncertainty; to help create the conditions for you to reconnect with your authentic self and remember what lights you up. We can explore ways to recognize and acknowledge your anxiety that moves beyond words. Incorporating expressive arts, guided imagery, and embodied exercises to help you strengthen your awareness with your emotions and rewrite old narratives.

I’m a licensed therapist in San Francisco with over 15 years in private practice. I specialize in Eating disorders, body image and trauma and work primarily with adults who are exhausted by the cycle of restriction, compulsive eating, shame and self criticism and are ready for something to genuinely shift. My training includes, IFS, Somatic therapy, EMDR, CBT and Expressive Arts therapy, which means we will not only engage in supportive talk therapy, but also have real tools to work with. My clients often express that not only do they heal and find peace with food, disordered eating and body image, but they also become more able to feel and tolerate emotions and regulate moods, while building trust in their bodies and discover true hungers, desires and enhance creativity and vitality. This can lead to more ease and comfort in your own skin, with the potential of more meaningful work and healthy relationships.

Are you in life transition or coping with anxiety and stress ? Are you searching for deeper meaning to feel more joy and peace? Are you going through life’s uncertainty due to factors of life transition, illness, aging, identity crisis, retirement, loss of loved ones, financial stress, women’s hormonal changes? Do you want more Meaningful positive experiences and becoming your Best Authentic Self?

I am here to provide you with compassionate care, kindness and psychological and emotional support. You deserve to experience peace of mind and wellness. Life invites growth through transitions which require us to change and make tough decisions. am here to support you to THRIVE in times of change.

About Me:

I am guided by my values of Compassion, Wisdom, Healing and Empowerment. My focus is helping people THRIVE in healthy lifestyle and wellbeing.

I practice Ayurveda, a holistic lifestyle system from India that promotes balance of mind, body, and spirit through daily habits, nutrition, and self-care.