Zaya Kuykendall , LMHC, LPCC

Zaya Kuykendall helps people find balance and regain a sense of control when life feels overwhelming. She frames therapy as a practical process - a chance to reconnect with oneself, regulate emotions, and clarify priorities - and partners with clients to identify small, realistic steps forward. Her style emphasizes openness and honesty, cultivating stability that supports honest dialogue and steady growth.

Zaya draws from an eclectic mix of practices, with strong influences from Gestalt therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Therapy. She offers supportive feedback while helping clients build personal strengths, work through unfinished business, and better recognize and name their emotions. Sessions are oriented toward increasing self-awareness and developing tools to move past roadblocks.

With 16 years of experience in the helping professions, Zaya earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2000 and a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling in 2004. Her background includes focused work in domestic violence, child development and parenting, familial conflict, women’s issues, and substance abuse. She has provided care to both children and adults across individual, group, family, and couples formats, as well as through e-therapy channels.

Zaya holds the credentials LMHC and LPCC - indicating she is a licensed mental health counselor and a licensed professional clinical counselor - and integrates practical coaching alongside traditional therapeutic work to support clients through life’s bumps and transitions.

Practical Approaches and Online Care

Zaya often draws on Gestalt therapy, which emphasizes present-moment awareness and helps clients explore how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors show up in their lives; this approach can be useful for people working to increase self-awareness and resolve unfinished emotional business. She also uses Motivational Interviewing, a collaborative style that helps people find internal motivation to change patterns related to addictions, health, or behavior goals by exploring ambivalence and personal values. In addition, Solution-Focused Therapy is employed to identify strengths and build concrete, achievable steps toward goals, which can be especially helpful for managing stress, anxiety, and life transitions.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Zaya works collaboratively with clients to determine which techniques fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting methods over time as progress and challenges emerge. This partnership helps tailor sessions to what will be most helpful for each person.

Online therapy with Zaya is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to access licensed professionals from home or another convenient location, maintain consistency in care during busy periods, and continue work between sessions when brief check-ins or messaging are helpful.