Lilian Zelaya-Coria , LCSW

Lilian Zelaya-Coria offers compassionate, culturally attuned care for children, adolescents, and families navigating stress, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions. She acknowledges that beginning therapy often requires courage and approaches each person with patience and respect, helping them develop practical coping skills and build a grounded, hopeful future. Lilian centers a strengths-based, trauma-informed perspective in her work, listening closely to each client’s story and exploring emotions and past experiences to understand their impact and promote healing.

She is Latinx, multicultural, and bilingual in English and Spanish, and practices as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California - a clinical social work license for providing mental health services. Lilian holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University (2006) and a Master of Social Work from San Jose State University (2008); she earned her LCSW in 2019. Her professional background includes roles in non-profit settings, work with Child Protective Services, and serving as a school-based therapist in K-12 environments, where she supported students including those receiving special education services.

Lilian integrates evidence-based methods with creative, client-centered techniques such as journaling, music, guided imagery, expressive arts, and somatic practices like mindfulness and progressive muscle relaxation. She draws on Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy alongside solution-focused and family systems approaches, tailoring interventions to each client’s needs. Her style is warm, collaborative, and non-judgmental, aiming to meet clients where they are and support them in building resilience, self-understanding, and healthier patterns of relating.

Trauma-informed and evidence-based care delivered online

Lilian frequently uses Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which helps young people and their families process traumatic experiences through structured skills, coping strategies, and gradual exposure to difficult memories. This approach supports healing from trauma symptoms and improves emotional regulation and safety. She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and reshape unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, a practical method for addressing anxiety, depression, and stress by building concrete skills for daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Lilian collaborates with clients and caregivers to assess needs, goals, and personal preferences, adjusting methods over time so the plan fits each individual’s strengths and circumstances. This collaborative stance helps determine when to emphasize skills training, trauma processing, family work, or somatic practices like mindfulness.

Online therapy with Lilian is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for families and adolescents juggling school, appointments, and other responsibilities. These formats increase access to licensed professionals and make it easier to maintain consistent appointments, practice new skills between sessions, and receive support in a way that fits daily life.