Thrive Therapy Center

07/25/2026

01/14/2024

12/22/2022

Strive to Thrive…
Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

A Two Minute Talk Can Save Lives

I feel led today to encourage adults, to remind their family, friends, students, colleagues, to talk to the young people in their lives about safety. I am not talking about doing it in a preachy way. But taking the time to calmly provide real life stories about tragic accidents that happen to decent people, could save a life.

Most adults who were once 19 know that from adolescence into young adulthood, antics and thrills are exciting. The brain isn’t completely developed, risks are taken, and accidents occur.

This past Monday at 3 am, in our Valencia neighborhood right above our home, a 19 year old male and his friend stole a tractor from his work job sight. Honestly, they were probably just borrowing it for a joyride. Many young people who do these types of things are not criminals. They’re impulsive kids looking for some fun~ and their damn brains aren’t finished developing. For the majority of young people, age 26 is the magic number of attaining the ability to foresee consequences. Obviously, there is a variance in maturity with such factors as mental health, developmental issues, trauma, and the like. But it is fair to say overall, prior to one’s mid twenties, risk taking behavior is at a higher percentage than it is later in life.

I post this article to get your attention. This young man and his friend took the tractor and ~ it fell over on him. That is what happened. Yet, the consequence was tragic.

Bringing up a conversation with young people in our lives “out of the blue” has a high potential to plant a seed that can cause a person to “think twice” before making a risky decision. I have worked with young people for over 25 years. It is a fact that our words can help kids to think, to pause, and to perhaps chose to not make a decision that changes their life negatively.

And while young people’s brains are not finished cooking, believe me, they most definitely are in the oven. And they’re ready to be seasoned.

A man was killed Monday morning after a tractor they allegedly stole from a construction site tipped...

11/23/2022

Strive To Thrive
Blessings Amidst Trials

Beautiful people do not just happen. And wisdom only comes through suffering trials.

No amount of education, age, or academics alone create wisdom. It takes hard work, suffering...and "growing" from pain.

Wisdom escapes our grasp when we blame others, self medicate, deny, are defensive, or bitter. Wisdom is attained through struggle, growth, grace, and healing.

Wisdom is arising out of the ashes of your latest trial with graceful strength and standing firm till the next trial hits.

Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

03/12/2022

Adults educated in how children’s emotions and brains work, and create effective programs, can change lives.

06/22/2021

Strive to Thrive…
Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

What Exactly IS Therapy?

Below, you will see posted what I wish I could say to clients when they ask me, “Well, how am I going to change? I feel that I AM aware that I do ‘such and such’ behavior.”

It is not that simple. It is much deeper. It takes a couple of years to tap into the unconscious and make any type of permanent change. I have clients who have been seeing me 14 years by choice. They have attained deep healing, made permanent changes, feel peace and newfound strength, and they are still choosing to learn more.

Psychotherapy is science. Neuroscience. Therapists deal with the brain. We go to school for years. We see patients for years before we are allowed to take the first of our two licensing exams. When you see a therapist, even a new one, they have seen 3000-5000 patients before ever being licensed to practice alone. Add to that a doctorate, years of being licensed, and any post doctorate specialty trainings (I personally have Harvard and Duke University postgrad training). We are educated, skilled, trained, wise, seasoned, and we handcraft your treatment, yes, just for you. Your treatment is uniquely designed and mindfully integrated to assist you in finding peace ~ and change how you interact in the world.

So I set before you:

“What do therapists actually do?” Enjoy.

"Psychotherapists are applied neuroscientists who create individually tailored enriched learning environments designed to enhance brain functioning and mental health. We are skilled at teaching clients to become aware of unconscious processing, take ownership of their projections, and risk anxiety in the service of emotional maturation. In our work, illusions, distortions, and defenses are exposed, explored, and tested or modified with understandings closer to reality. Implicit memory – in the form of attachment schemas, transference, and superego – are made conscious and explained as expressions of early experiences. We use a combination of empathy, affect, stories, and behavioral experiments to promote neural network growth and integration.

Through all this work, subcortical brain networks that store memories of fears, phobias, and traumas are activated and made accessible for integration with cortical inhibitory circuitry. This essential integration allows for linkage among explicit and implicit circuits, conscious awareness, and the control of negative memories, sensations, and emotions. Regardless of the client’s particular problem, psychotherapy teaches a method to help us better understand and use our brains. And as the dialogue between psychotherapy and neuroscience continues to evolve, an increasing number of scientific findings will be applied to both theory and clinical practice."

From "The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy" by Louis Cozolino

07/29/2020

Strive to Thrive
Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

Clinging to Our Faith During Covid 19, 2020

Today I coined the term, Floating in Faith...

Alright, perhaps it might have existed before. I’ll look that up later. However, my definition is living and powerful to me today. This week. This year. This season.

I had to get to a place where I completely let go and trusted God without a tangible touch from Him. I floated in faith until I collided with God’s tangible provision. And as much as I love to swim, even in rough waters, this type of floating had me flaying about quite a bit. Not an attractive image.

This God person just keeps amazing me. I deeply and literally got to this place in my mind, spirit, heart, even body. The next day, I received this written message from an unexpected source:

Faith is a scary thing, yet it is powerful when we finally get there! It’s completely saying, “You know I have this tangible need by this time. I HAVE to trust you that it will be taken care of by you.” Then I let go. I floated in faith.

I had no bearings. No footing. Nothing concrete. I went deep inside my spirit, told God my need and my fears, and He amazed me by providing in a tangible way. And he touched me emotionally and psychologically by giving me a lesson last week: He put me in a position to learn to accept help.

I was humbled. I humbled myself. And I learned to let go a bit when I can’t control things...and float in faith this season of my life. This season of the unknown.

My hope is that anyone struggling today, can lean back~ and float.

05/08/2020

Thrive Therapy
Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

Reframing Brings Hope

Can you see the sun through the dark branches? This is actually the moon. Reframing does not dim beauty and hope.

03/27/2020

Strive to Thrive...
Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

Sheltering in Place - Make the Shift

I’ll admit, I was a bit stressed out by late afternoon yesterday.

I was working upstairs, and anytime I left the room, our little guy asked if he could help me. He came to help me as I measured an area for a new rug, wanted to help clean the floor of my new workout area, then got on a stool to help me cook before I was ready to. I still had a business call to make. As I went upstairs to shut myself into my work area, he asked to come in. I told him I had a call and there were other family members downstairs. When I emerged 30 minutes later, I was startled and screamed as I opened the door to this precious child dressed like this. He said he was all ready to help me cook. He had an apron on and had placed headphones over his ears “so he wouldn’t be bothered by the sound of me sautéing veggies.”

My heart melted.

As we shelter in place, it’s time to “make the shift” to see our blessings amidst this stressful time. So I created a new hashtag...

03/26/2020

Strive to Thrive...

I don't like the term, "Back in the Day."
Today is that Day. Live it.
~Kimberlie Zakarian, LMFT

Sheltering in Place is a great time to work through, and heal, any old wounds that have been holding you back in life. It is also a season where we need emotional support more than ever.

If you need to talk, please reach out and ask about Tele-psyche therapy sessions. Therapy via phone, FaceTime, Google Hangout, and Zoom.