Elena Zacarias de Palacios, LMFT

California · 30 years in practice

Elena Zacarias de Palacios is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist with 30 years of clinical experience.

License and registration

LMFT, California: 128690 · expires October 2027
NPI: 1285010728 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 30
Languages: English, Spanish

Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.

About Elena

Elena Zacarias de Palacios is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist with 30 years of clinical experience. She helps people who are coping with trauma and abuse, grief and loss, parenting concerns, low self-esteem, and major life changes. She also offers support around pregnancy and childbirth.

Elena speaks English and Spanish and aims to make first steps feel manageable for someone who is nervous about starting therapy. Elena centers sessions on each person's own knowledge of their life.

Background and approach

She uses Client-Centered Therapy to listen closely and follow what matters most to the person in front of her. Sessions tend to be collaborative and paced to the client’s comfort. She also incorporates Internal Family Systems, which looks at different parts of a person’s inner world and how they relate to one another.

That approach is often helpful when emotions feel mixed or when old patterns keep repeating. Hypnotherapy is used as another tool to support relaxation and to access focused attention for change work. In practice, Elena offers straightforward, calm sessions aimed at solving practical problems and building confidence.

She encourages small steps and steady progress rather than sudden fixes. Her tone is warm and respectful and she treats each person as the expert on their own story. People can expect clear talk about goals, simple techniques to use between sessions, and gentle support during hard moments.

Elena invites people to try a first session and see how the approach fits their needs.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Elena lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Approaches Elena names

Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.

Online support

How Elena’s approaches work in online sessions

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and responding to what the client says matters most. In online sessions this means Elena follows the client’s lead, helps set clear goals, and offers simple tools that are easy to use between meetings.

Internal Family Systems looks at the different parts inside a person and how they interact. Online work can use conversation and short exercises to identify those parts, calm reactive patterns, and practice new ways of relating to difficult feelings.

Hypnotherapy is used to guide focused attention and deep relaxation that can help with habit change, stress reduction, and preparation for challenging life events like childbirth. In remote sessions this work often involves spoken guidance and short, structured exercises the client can repeat at home.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Elena will discuss options and adapt methods based on a person’s goals, comfort level, and feedback. She works with clients to test what helps and adjusts pace and focus as needed.

Online sessions offer practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text sessions suit quick check-ins or people who prefer written communication. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy days and to continue care across changing schedules.

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Questions people ask

What concerns does Elena help with?

She supports people dealing with trauma and abuse, grief and loss, parenting challenges, low self-esteem, and coping with life changes. Pregnancy and childbirth are listed as an additional focus area.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her style is collaborative and person-focused. Sessions emphasize listening, following the client’s priorities, and building practical steps for change.

How long has she practiced?

She has 30 years of professional work experience as a therapist in California.

What credentials and location should I know about?

She holds the LMFT credential and practices in California as a licensed marriage and family therapist.

Which languages are sessions offered in?

Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.

Can international clients work with her?

International clients are not currently accepted; she works with people located within California.

What session formats are available?

She provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.

How are fees handled and how do I begin?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

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