Elena Zacarias de PalaciosLMFT

Elena Zacarias de Palacios is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 30 years of experience. She helps people facing trauma and abuse, grief and loss, parenting challenges, low self-esteem, and major life changes. She also provides support around pregnancy and childbirth concerns. Her approach is warm and respectful, focused on listening and building on each person's strengths.

Elena centers sessions on what the client brings. She treats people as the experts in their own stories and works alongside them to find useful ways forward. Conversations are practical and grounded, with attention to what feels manageable day to day.

Her methods include client-centered therapy, hypnotherapy, and Internal Family Systems work. These approaches get used to help people find calm, reconnect with inner resources, and address patterns that keep causing pain. Sessions aim to increase confidence and coping skills rather than rely on labels or quick fixes.

Elena draws on three decades of practice in California to tailor support to each situation. She speaks English and Spanish, which can help when people prefer to switch languages during a session. Her style is steady and encouraging, focused on small steps that lead to meaningful change.

If you are wrestling with grief, trauma, parenting strain, or concerns tied to pregnancy and childbirth, she offers a compassionate place to talk things through. The first visit focuses on understanding your goals and planning the next steps together.

How her approaches fit into online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the client's lead. The therapist creates space for people to tell their story, reflect, and decide on next steps. This approach helps when someone needs understanding and steady support rather than directives.

Hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation and focused attention to help with habits, anxiety, and managing strong emotions. It can be useful for learning new coping strategies and calming physical stress responses that arise during pregnancy, grief, or trauma recovery.

Internal Family Systems helps people notice different parts of themselves - for example, a protective part or a wounded part - and then learn kinder ways to relate to those parts. This work can reduce self-criticism and improve self-esteem by changing internal patterns that cause distress.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. The therapist will work collaboratively to match methods to the client's goals, preferences, and the issues they bring. That can mean trying different ways of working over several sessions to see what feels most helpful.

Confirm current session options before booking, since formats are not specified in the biography. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten travel time, and allow quieter check-ins during a break at work or between appointments. Therapists and licensed professionals often use remote work to maintain continuity of care when in-person meetings are difficult, and Elena can help plan practical arrangements that suit your daily life.