John Zamora
My ideal client is someone coping with anything from daily stressors to severe mental illness—feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood, or simply stuck. They may be navigating complex relationships, the aftereffects of trauma, or struggling with symptoms that disrupt their sense of self. Some may have tried therapy before; others are seeking a fresh, compassionate approach. What they share is a hope for change, a desire for clarity, and the drive to find new ways forward—whether that's healing, understanding themselves, or just feeling “okay” again. As a seasoned therapist with advanced NMT training and a passion for innovation, I use a person-centered, solution-focused approach, blending therapeutic modalities to fit your unique needs. Fluent in English, Tagalog, and conversational Mandarin, I provide support that is compassionate, adaptable, and culturally sensitive. If you want to be met with both expertise and genuine care, you’re in the right place. I embrace individuality and creative problem-solving, helping clients find hope even in tough situations. We'll collaborate closely—finding what works for you—so you never face challenges alone.
First session
The first session is less about diagnosis and more about starting to understand your story. Expect us to talk through what brought you in, what's been going on recently, and what you're hoping is different on the other side of this. I'll ask questions, but this isn't an interrogation. It's the beginning of a conversation that will keep evolving. You should leave that first session with a sense of whether this feels like the right fit, because that matters just as much as anything clinical. Some people leave with a bit of relief just from finally saying things out loud. Others leave with more questions than they came in with, and that's okay too. There's no script you need to follow. My job in that first hour is mostly to listen closely and start figuring out, together with you, where we should go from here.
Strengths
I try to be what you need me to be in any given session. Some days that means being a sounding board while you talk something through out loud. Other days it means holding the reins a little tighter and offering more direction and structure. Either way, my goal is to create an open space where you can explore who you are and what you're actually looking to figure out, without feeling boxed into one method or one version of "how therapy is supposed to go." I consider myself an eclectic clinician. Over nearly two decades of experience, I've drawn from multiple disciplines and approaches rather than sticking rigidly to one framework, because people don't fit neatly into one framework either. I believe the real work starts with simply getting to know the person in front of me. It's through that genuine conversation, built over time, that we can start to understand why you're seeking treatment and what real change might look like for you.
Ideal clients
I work well with people who are ready to be honest, even when it's uncomfortable. You don't need to have it all figured out before you walk in. In fact, most people who come to me are somewhere in the middle of a mess, feeling stuck, overwhelmed, disconnected from themselves, or unsure why they keep repeating the same patterns in their relationships, work, or thoughts. What matters more than having a clear "issue" is a willingness to actually look at what's going on rather than just talk around it. My ideal client is someone who's curious about themselves, even if that curiosity is buried under frustration or exhaustion. Some come in wanting to vent and be heard. Others come in wanting concrete tools and structure. Both are welcome here. What I ask for in return is openness, since the work only moves as far as the honesty in the room allows.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use CBT with clients who are stuck in thought patterns that keep feeding the same anxious, depressive loops. We start by slowing down and actually naming the thought behind the feeling, since most people can describe how they feel long before they can identify what they were telling themselves in that moment. From there, we work on catching those thoughts, testing whether they hold up, and practicing more accurate or useful alternatives. This isn't just talk, either. I'll often build in behavioral pieces too, like gradually approaching something you've been avoiding or getting you back into activities that have dropped off your radar, because thoughts and behavior reinforce each other in both directions. For clients who like structure and homework between sessions, CBT tends to be the backbone I lean on most.
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma informed care isn't so much a technique I pull out as it is the lens I run everything through. Before we ever get into deep content, I'm paying attention if the space feels safe, predictable, and within your control, because a session where you feel exposed or rushed can do more harm than good . That means clear boundaries, transparency about where a conversation is heading, and giving you real choices about pace and depth rather than assuming I know what you're ready for. Part of what shapes how I approach this comes from my training NMT, developed by Dr. Bruce Perry. NMT isn't a specific technique so much as a map of how the brain develops and how trauma disrupts that development, from the brainstem up through the limbic system and into the thinking, reasoning parts of the brain. What that means practically is that I don't jump straight into insight-based conversation with someone who's dysregulated. My NMT background trained me to think in terms of "regulate, relate, reason": we work on calming the nervous system first, build safety and connection second, and only then move into the kind of reflective, cognitive work that talk therapy usually gets associated with. This shows up in session as me reading for regulation before content. If someone comes in wired, anxious, or shut down, we might spend real time just settling the body and the nervous system before trying to unpack anything meaningful, because insight doesn't land well on top of a dysregulated system. I also keep in mind that trauma responses show up in patterns like hypervigilance or checking out, not just in what someone says out loud, so I'm tracking that alongside the conversation itself . The goal, whether I'm leaning on NMT specifically or traumainformed principles more broadly, is always to restore a sense of safety and agency rather than pushing someone to relive something before they're regulated enough to actually process it
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Solution-focused work comes out when a client is less interested in excavating the past and more interested in figuring out what to actually do next. Instead of spending a lot of time on what's wrong, we shift toward what things would look like if the problem were smaller or gone, using tools like the miracle question or scaling questions to get concrete about where you are and where you want to be. I like this approach because it moves quickly and keeps momentum. We look for exceptions, meaning times when the problem wasn't happening or wasn't as bad, and treat those as clues rather than flukes. It's a good fit for clients who want practical, short-term progress rather than an extended excavation, though I'll often blend it with the other approaches depending on what a session calls for that day.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 94788