About

About Maya Heffernan, LMFT

Maya Heffernan, LMFT

Helping You Move Toward More Authentic, Connected Living

I believe therapy is about more than reducing symptoms.

It is an opportunity to better understand yourself, heal the patterns that have shaped your life, and build relationships that feel more authentic, secure, and fulfilling.

I approach therapy with warmth, curiosity, and deep respect for the wisdom of the human system. Seeking therapy often begins with pain, uncertainty, or the quiet sense that something in life could feel different. My role is not to tell you who you should become, but to help you understand the experiences that shaped you and support you as you move toward the life that feels most fully your own.

Whether I’m working with an individual, a couple, or a family, I strive to create a therapeutic relationship where people feel safe enough to slow down, become curious, and experience meaningful change.

Why I Do This Work

Relationships can be some of the greatest sources of joy in our lives.

They can also be the places where our deepest wounds, fears, and longings become most visible.

Both personally and professionally, I’ve come to understand that many of the struggles we experience today make sense when we understand the relationships and experiences that shaped us. This is why I’m especially drawn to helping people explore attachment, emotional patterns, and the ways we learn to protect ourselves.

Together, we gently uncover the patterns that may have once helped you survive but now keep you feeling disconnected, stuck, or alone. I believe healing begins not by judging these patterns, but by understanding them with compassion.

“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”

Najwa Zebian

I Love Working With People

Many of the people who find their way to my practice are thoughtful, insightful, and deeply motivated to grow.

They may be navigating:

Many have spent years trying to understand themselves. They are looking for more than coping strategies. They are seeking meaningful transformation and a deeper relationship with themselves and the people they love.

My Philosophy

At the heart of my work is the belief that our symptoms are meaningful.

Rather than asking
“What’s wrong with you?”
I ask
“What happened, and how did your mind and body learn to adapt?”

Many emotional struggles begin as intelligent survival strategies. Together, we slow down enough to understand these adaptations with curiosity instead of judgment. As we begin to recognize the needs, experiences, and attachment patterns beneath them, new possibilities for healing naturally emerge.

I believe lasting change happens not only through insight, but through new emotional experiences that help both the mind and the nervous system discover something different.

Only Certified PBSP Therapist · West Coast

My Approach

My work integrates attachment theory, body-oriented psychotherapy, and experiential approaches that help clients move beyond simply talking about change.

As the only certified Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor (PBSP) therapist on the West Coast, I offer a specialized therapeutic approach that helps people heal developmental and attachment patterns through carefully guided experiential work.

Whether we’re working with anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, or questions of identity, my goal is always the same: to help you experience greater freedom, connection, and self-understanding. 

Training & Professional Experience

My professional training includes:

I remain committed to ongoing learning and bringing thoughtful, evidence-informed approaches into my work with clients.