01 · Who Jilla works with

Jilla works with stress, Anxiety, family conflicts and parenting issues

Jilla lists 13 specialisms and 18 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Jilla chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Jilla's own words

What Jilla says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a licensed clinical social worker in California, with nearly 20 years of experience working with diverse communities on a wide range of issues. I attended the University of Southern California for my dual masters in Social Work and Jewish Communal Service. I am also trained as a transformational life coach.

I believe that self-exploration is an investment in you and your future. When we learn to pay attention to our thoughts and feelings with kindness and compassion, we gain insight and a true understanding of our authentic selves. We experience a sense of inner-peace, find deeper meaning, and become more nurturing to ourselves and others without judgment.

My mission is to get to know the core of who you are and understand your inner experiences. Together we will explore your emotional state. I will listen and validate your feelings within a safe space with empathy.

My intention is to help you set new goals and take steps towards achieving them. I will work with you to gain a true understanding of your strengths and help you restore your sense of clarity, direction, and creativity. I use different approaches in my work depending on the needs of my clients, including: client-centered, cognitive behavioral with psychodynamic perspective, mindfulness, and strength-based therapy.

Specialties: Life coaching Stress, anxiety Women’s issues Self esteem Acculturation Coping and adjustment Depression Relationship issues Parenting

Languages: English Farsi

Jilla Lavian, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Jilla works

The 5 approaches Jilla lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Jilla lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Jilla's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Jilla runs a session.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Jilla practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Jilla's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Jilla at this point.

2. Naming Jilla specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Jilla is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Jilla.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Jilla

Built from what Jilla actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Jilla's - Jilla has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “With 20 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

• “You offer sessions in English and Persian. Does the work change depending on which we use?”

  People often reach different material in a first language than in a second. Worth naming before you choose.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LCSW 15233

Licence number

15233

Licence expires

31 Mar 2028

NPI

1568071850

Years in practice

20

Gender

Female

Languages

English, Persian

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Jilla's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Jilla. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.