Zerly Justiniano , LMFT

Zerly Justiniano is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California with 20 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, grief, and depression. Zerly speaks English and Spanish and aims to make therapy approachable and straightforward for people seeking change.

She centers sessions on each person’s story and strengths. Zerly believes clients know their lives best and she helps them build on what already works. Conversations are practical and paced to the client's needs, with attention to concrete steps between sessions.

Across two decades of practice Zerly has supported people facing abandonment, attachment and codependency concerns. She also addresses guilt and shame, forgiveness, questions about life purpose, workplace stress, narcissism, multicultural concerns, and issues often experienced by young adults. Her background creates a steady framework for tackling both immediate problems and longer-term patterns.

Zerly takes a collaborative approach. She listens carefully, helps clarify goals, and offers tools tailored to daily life. Sessions can include short skills practice, reflection on relationship patterns, and problem-solving for stressful situations.

People looking for therapy are invited to consider what they want to change and what feels most urgent. Zerly supports clients through each step of the process, from deciding to start to making adjustments that fit day-to-day life.

Evidence-based approaches and online care

Many of Zerly's methods come from evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical change. One common approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful relationship and attachment patterns and then practicing alternative ways of relating to others; this helps people who struggle with abandonment, codependency, or repeating the same relationship dynamics. Another approach focuses on building coping skills for anxiety, stress, and grief through short exercises and gradual behavior changes; this gives people tools they can use between sessions to feel steadier day to day.

Choosing the right therapeutic approach is part of the work. Zerly collaborates with each person to figure out which techniques fit best based on their goals, needs, and preferences. Together they review progress and adjust strategies when something isn't helping.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls let people have a fuller conversational session. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or for a quick check-in. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for brief updates, daily skills practice, or when someone prefers writing over speaking. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and to continue care from different locations.