Maia Yamasaki

Maia became a counselor because she is an innate nurturer who has always known that a career where she makes a positive difference in the lives of others would give her own life meaning. Having grown up in a home with two parents in “helping professions,” a family physician and a nurse practitioner, the concept of caring for and healing the community around her was instilled at a young age. Dinner table conversations often included discussions about interesting psychiatric diagnoses, as well as success stories of patients who had achieved better lives through the support and care they received. Intriguing debates about psychological philosophies were commonplace throughout her childhood, and Maia even celebrated one Halloween dressed as a “Freudian Slip”. When it came time to choose a college major (after one very dry semester in Business Administration), a path toward a lifetime career in mental health was forged.

Over the last near twenty years, Maia has had the honor of working therapeutically with many extraordinary human beings and is still deeply committed to helping others using various known treatment modalities, as well as one of her favorites, laughter. Maia has the ability to sit intentionally with individuals in some of their darkest and most unguarded moments and still bring a smile to their faces (at least once per session!). She has been described as having an endless supply of compassion for others.

After earning her undergraduate degree in Psychology, Maia spent a year traveling the world, specifically in South America, where she became fluent in conversational Spanish. Upon her return to the U.S., she earned her M.A. in Counseling Psychology in 2006. Prior to joining Drishti, Maia worked as a Professional Counselor in the SF Bay Area for 16 years, providing therapy to children, teens/young adults, parents, and families in school-based settings as well as a non-profit.