About Elena
Elena Zacarias de Palacios is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing trauma, grief, parenting strain, low self-esteem, and major life changes. She speaks English and Spanish and brings 30 years of clinical experience to sessions. Elena encourages people to take the first step and acknowledges the courage that requires.
Her approach centers on listening first. She treats each person as the expert on their life and builds on existing strengths.
How Elena works
That practical focus helps people feel understood and gain tools that work in daily life. Elena uses client-centered methods to create space for people to tell their stories at their own pace. She also draws on Internal Family Systems ideas to help clients notice the different parts inside them and reduce internal conflict.
Hypnotherapy is another tool she may offer for focused work on memories, stress, and coping skills. Sessions aim to be straightforward and solution-focused while honoring strong emotions. Elena helps clients identify small, manageable steps to improve confidence, handle parenting challenges, and navigate pregnancy and childbirth concerns.
People find her style calm and steady, with attention to practical coping strategies. The work is collaborative: she listens, offers reflections, and helps shape goals that fit each person’s life.
Elena lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Elena works with
The areas below are the ones Elena selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Parenting issues
Also listed
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 30 |
| Languages | English, Spanish |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that translate well to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to the client. Online sessions allow someone to speak at their own pace while a therapist offers empathy and practical feedback. This approach is helpful for building self-esteem and working through life changes.Internal Family Systems helps people notice different parts inside themselves and bring more balance between those parts. In online work, clients can learn to identify and calm reactive parts during a session and practice new ways of responding between appointments. Hypnotherapy offers guided techniques to access focused attention and reduce the intensity of painful memories or strong stress reactions in a structured way.
Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match goals, preferences, and what feels comfortable. That collaborative planning can include trying a few techniques and adjusting as progress is made.
Online formats like video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video is useful for face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone calls can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat or messaging can be good for brief check-ins or written reflection. These options increase flexibility and help people continue work even when schedules or distances change.
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Common questions
What concerns does she help with?
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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