- LMFT with 20 years
- English and Spanish
- Focus on codependency
About Zerly
Zerly Justiniano is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 20 years of professional experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, trauma and depression. Zerly speaks English and Spanish and works from California.
She approaches therapy believing the client is the expert on their own life. Zerly looks for each person’s strengths and builds on them. She offers steady support while people take steps toward a more fulfilling life.
In sessions she listens for patterns that keep people stuck, such as attachment wounds, codependent habits, or unhelpful responses to loss and shame. She talks through practical ways to respond differently at work and in close relationships. Conversations can include spotting triggers, naming feelings, and choosing new behaviors that fit a client’s values.
Zerly also pays attention to multicultural concerns and how identity shapes experience. She helps people sort through guilt, forgiveness, and questions about purpose. Her goal is to help clients notice small changes that add up to better daily functioning.
For someone who is nervous about starting therapy, Zerly aims to make the first steps straightforward. She encourages honest conversation about goals and works with each person to set realistic, manageable goals as therapy progresses.
Evidence-informed approaches for working online
Many of Zerly's methods draw on evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on changing unhelpful patterns and strengthening coping skills. One common approach helps people identify and change repeated relationship and behavior patterns by noticing triggers, labeling feelings, and practicing new responses; this can support work on codependency, attachment issues, and relationship stress.Another approach emphasizes grief and trauma processing through paced conversations that honor the person's timing while teaching skills for managing intense emotions and daily functioning. This method aims to reduce overwhelm and build tools for handling memory, reminders, and loss-related reactions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Zerly collaborates with each person to choose techniques that match their goals, needs, and comfort level, adjusting strategies as progress is made.
Confirm which session formats are offered before booking, since the original biography does not specify formats. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when schedules require them. Ask about available options when you select the Start Therapy button so session logistics can be arranged to suit your routine.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
20+ years
Credentials
California
Languages
English, Spanish
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Zerly commonly address?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship problems, trauma and abuse, grief, and depression, and also focuses on issues like abandonment, attachment, codependency, guilt and shame, and workplace concerns.
What is her general therapy style?
Zerly centers the client as the expert on their life and looks for strengths to build on, offering straightforward, practical conversations and supportive guidance.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 20 years of professional work experience in clinical settings and community practice in California.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT, practicing in California.
Which languages are supported during sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
Can international clients work with her?
She is not currently accepting international clients; sessions are provided for those located in California.
How are session fees and billing handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin therapy?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session based on the therapist's availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.