Laya Jamali, LMFT
Compassionate Psychotherapy in East Bay
Offering relational, trauma-informed psychotherapy, integrating Jungian depth work, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and attachment-based healing.
Trauma Informed Care
What to expect
Whether overwhelmed by anxiety, depression, grief, or the lingering effects of trauma. Or navigating questions of identity, belonging, or meaning. I can offer an encouraging space where turning toward yourself can be done soulfully. A place where all parts of you, the parts you've had to be and the parts that you want to be can be witnessed and invited to join the conversation toward greater ease in responding to life and a richer, more joyful participation with it.
My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and depth-oriented. I integrate psychodynamic and Jungian perspectives with mindfulness and somatic awareness, helping you explore not just what is happening, but why—and how it lives in your body, your relationships, and your inner world. Together, we’ll gently uncover patterns shaped by early experiences, reconnect with disowned or silenced parts of yourself, and cultivate a more grounded, compassionate presence.
I pay close attention to what unfolds between us in the room—because that, too, is part of the work. Therapy becomes a living experience where trust, boundaries, and authenticity can be explored and strengthened in real time. This process is not about fixing you—it’s about assisting you to come home to yourself with greater clarity, resilience, and self-trust.
I work best with individuals who are curious about themselves and their inner lives. Psychotherapy is a process and requires a deep commitment. Staying with its rhythms even though hard at times, can offer incredible insight and growth that can be in service to life.
Tending to the inner life is an art and a craft. Weaving, sewing, molding, drawing, mending, building, breaking and repeating. It is an exciting and enduring task.
A woman walked through a forest every day and saw nothing new. Until one day, she dropped a coin and knelt to search for it… She saw 25 species of moss, 3 ants holding a beetle funeral and a leaf shaped like an elephant ear. She hadn’t changed the forest. She had changed how she was looking.
Compassionate Psychotherapy
About Laya
My clients describe me as non-judgmental, warm, present, smart, sometimes serious and other times playful.
My work is influenced by my imaginal and dream work, conscious movement and somatic embodiment practices, infused with Persian mysticism and Sufi lineage which is the foundation of my spiritual practice.
Drawing from anti-oppressive narratives, I bring a more nuanced dynamic to our work. I have experience working with LGBTQ+, BIPOC, immigrant and sex worker populations, and embrace diversity while paying attention to the intersections of identity.
Education and Experience
I am a licensed Marriage and Family therapist. I received my MA with an emphasis on humanistic and trauma informed care from St. Mary’s College of California.
I completed a two year training program in Ketamine Assisted Therapy at Alchemy Institute, Oakland and am a certified KAT practitioner by Fluence. Inc.
I have a second master’s degree in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience from University of Birmingham, UK, where I studied cognitive processing with an emphasis on perspective taking and pain perception, using methodologies of brain imaging (FMRI and EEG) and brain stimulation (TMS).
I am also an Ericksonian hypnotherapist from Milton Erickson Foundation.
I specialize in working with grief, trauma, women’s issues, immigration, religious trauma, and creative and spiritual depression.