Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #158291, supervised by Nora Katz, LCSW #112300
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Alyssa Zarske, AMFT
You know something is off, even when everything looks fine from the outside. You keep the commitments, you show up for people, you get through the day.
- Sessions
- Telehealth, statewide
- Languages
- English
- License
- AMFT #158291
- Focus
- Trauma and PTSD, Anxiety, Relationship issues
In Alyssa's words
And then 11:30 at night arrives and your mind won't stop running the same loop, the same memory, the same quiet fear that something is fundamentally wrong with you. You're not falling apart. But you're tired of feeling like you're carrying something you can't quite set down.
I do my best work with people who are willing to show up honestly even when they don't have the words yet.
Working with me feels like a real conversation, not a checklist. I'm warm and direct, and I'll ask questions that catch you off guard in a useful way. I also bring humor into the room when it belongs there, because the work can be serious without being heavy at every moment. My goal is that you leave sessions not just heard but actually clearer, like something that felt tangled is starting to make sense.
Keep readingShow less
The first few sessions are about getting oriented together: what's actually happening, what you've already tried, and what you want to feel differently. From there, the work depends on what fits. EMDR can help when something from the past keeps showing up uninvited; in sessions it looks less like talking and more like processing, so memories gradually lose their grip on the present. Internal Family Systems work helps you get curious about the parts of yourself that feel contradictory or stuck, rather than fighting them. CBT and Emotionally Focused Therapy come in when we're looking at patterns in thinking or in relationships, including how couples get caught in the same argument and what's really underneath it.
I do my best work with people who are willing to show up honestly even when they don't have the words yet. You don't need to know what you need. You do need some openness to looking inward. If you're looking for a highly structured, protocol-driven approach from the very first session, another clinician on our team might be a better starting point.
My training includes EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Emotionally Focused Therapy, with a particular focus on trauma, anxiety, and couples work.
I offer telehealth sessions throughout California.
If you'd like to see whether we're a good fit, you can book a free 15-minute phone consultation with our team, where we can talk about what's bringing you in and what working together might look like.