Mary Kay Zayani , LCSW

Mary Kay Zayani is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than 25 years of experience helping people navigate grief, anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, parenting concerns, PTSD, career transitions, and motivational coaching. She earned a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University in New York and has practiced in both California and New York as a licensed clinician. Her long career reflects a commitment to listening closely and offering steady support as clients face difficult life events or seek renewed energy and direction.

Mary Kay brings a warm, empathic presence to the therapeutic space, combining strength-based perspectives with cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic techniques. She aims to be an objective, nonjudgmental witness who validates and soothes while encouraging clients to uncover their own answers. In sessions she focuses on helping people stabilize emotions, develop self-soothing skills, and examine unhelpful core beliefs and cognitive distortions.

Rather than prescribing solutions, Mary Kay guides clients to identify choices and make decisions that arise from their own values and insights. Her style centers on collaboration, gentle challenge, and practical tools to support healing, healthier relationships, and forward movement through life transitions.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Sessions

Mary Kay integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Client-Centered approaches into online work to help clients address a range of concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; it is often used for anxiety, depression, and problems with rumination or avoidance. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental stance in which the therapist listens deeply and supports the client’s own capacity to find solutions and build self-understanding.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Mary Kay works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit their goals, preferences, and life circumstances. Together they explore what feels most helpful and adjust the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Mary Kay is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to attend sessions from home or other locations, support consistent care during life transitions, and allow clients to choose the communication style that best supports their healing and growth.