Kayla "Kai" Coca, LMHC

Kayla "Kai" Coca is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) based in New York with four years of therapy experience. Kai previously did crisis work and brings that background into sessions. They describe their approach as trauma-informed and neurodivergent-affirming. Kai centers the client's goals and strengths in each meeting.

Kai uses plain talk and a flexible style to match what a client needs in the moment. Sessions focus on practical steps as well as understanding how past experiences shape current reactions. Kai encourages people to notice their strengths and use them to meet goals.

The approach is collaborative. Kai invites clients to name priorities and then chooses tools that fit those goals. Conversations may include exploring beliefs, building coping skills, and practicing new ways of handling stress or relationships.

Kai often works with people facing trauma, identity questions, ADHD challenges, and LGBT-related concerns. Additional focus areas include chronic pain and illness, body image, attachment issues, dissociation, eating and food-related struggles, and communication problems. Sessions also address multicultural and gender-related matters.

Kai aims to make starting therapy straightforward. The tone in sessions is respectful and direct. Clients can expect a therapist who listens, adjusts to each person's needs, and helps break larger problems into small, doable steps.

How Kai's approaches guide online sessions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying what matters to a person and taking small steps toward those values while learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings. It can help when living with chronic illness, mood struggles, or identity-related stress. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening and building a trusting relationship so the client can set the pace and goals; this helps when someone needs time to make sense of their experiences. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and offers concrete skill-building to change unhelpful patterns, which can be useful for anxiety, ADHD-related challenges, and mood concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Kai will talk with each person about their needs and preferences and then try methods that seem to fit. That choice is collaborative and can change over time as goals shift or new challenges appear.

The original profile does not list specific online formats, so confirm available session types before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy life, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when days are tight, and let people use approaches like ACT and CBT from wherever they are. Licensed professionals, including Kai, aim to adapt their methods so therapy can work within a client's schedule and daily routines.