Jill Cepela
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#163237)
Phone: 626-268-3705
Hi, I’m Jill, and I believe that relationships are the foundation of our emotional well-being.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent years working in the entertainment industry, immersed in the art of storytelling. When I made the leap from fictional stories to real ones, I brought that background with me. Today I use it to help couples and individuals understand the story they’re telling themselves about their relationship, and write a better one.
I work with couples who feel stuck in the same painful cycle: the same argument, the same silence, the same distance that keeps growing no matter how much you love each other. I also work with individuals navigating the aftermath of a breakup, the complexities of dating, or the desire to show up differently in their relationships. And I’m proud to offer a sex-positive, LGBTQIA+-affirming space where all relationships are welcome.
My Approach
My work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the most research-supported approach for lasting couples work. EFT helps us slow things down and look beneath the surface of conflict to the attachment needs and fears that are actually driving the cycle. When couples understand what’s really happening between them, everything shifts.
I completed advanced EFT training and work under the supervision of Certified EFT Therapist and Supervisor Stephanie Saari, LMFT, so the standard of care you receive here reflects the highest level of training this field offers.
My approach is warm, direct, and collaborative. I’ll meet you with empathy and I’ll also gently challenge you, because real change requires both.
Background & Credentials
I hold a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute, where my graduate research thesis explored how mindfulness impacts sexual satisfaction in long-term relationships. I completed my clinical training at the California Family Counseling Center, a nonprofit serving the Los Angeles community.
License: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#163237)
Advanced training includes:
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): Externship and Core Skills Training
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT): Level One
- Sex, Love, and Attachment: Integrating Sex Therapy and EFT
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy: Level One
- Prepare/Enrich Premarital and Marriage Assessment Facilitator
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing
- Spotting ADHD Traits in the Negative Cycle
Memberships:
- International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
- California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
- EFT Center of Los Angeles (EFTCLA)
- Northern California Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy (NCCEFT)
Hi, I’m Jill, and I believe that relationships are the foundation of our emotional well-being.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent years working in the entertainment industry, immersed in the art of storytelling. When I made the leap from fictional stories to real ones, I brought that background with me. Today I use it to help couples and individuals understand the story they’re telling themselves about their relationship, and write a better one.
I work with couples who feel stuck in the same painful cycle: the same argument, the same silence, the same distance that keeps growing no matter how much you love each other. I also work with individuals navigating the aftermath of a breakup, the complexities of dating, or the desire to show up differently in their relationships. And I’m proud to offer a sex-positive, LGBTQIA+-affirming space where all relationships are welcome.
My Approach
My work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the most research-supported approach for lasting couples work. EFT helps us slow things down and look beneath the surface of conflict to the attachment needs and fears that are actually driving the cycle. When couples understand what’s really happening between them, everything shifts.
I completed advanced EFT training and work under the supervision of Certified EFT Therapist and Supervisor Stephanie Saari, LMFT, so the standard of care you receive here reflects the highest level of training this field offers.
My approach is warm, direct, and collaborative. I’ll meet you with empathy and I’ll also gently challenge you, because real change requires both.
Background & Credentials
I hold a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute, where my graduate research thesis explored how mindfulness impacts sexual satisfaction in long-term relationships. I completed my clinical training at the California Family Counseling Center, a nonprofit serving the Los Angeles community.
License: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#163237)
Advanced training includes:
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): Externship and Core Skills Training
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT): Level One
- Sex, Love, and Attachment: Integrating Sex Therapy and EFT
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy: Level One
- Prepare/Enrich Premarital and Marriage Assessment Facilitator
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing
- Spotting ADHD Traits in the Negative Cycle
Memberships:
- International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
- California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
- EFT Center of Los Angeles (EFTCLA)
- Northern California Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy (NCCEFT)
Connect with Jill by completing the form below or schedule a free consultation now
Recent Blog Posts
How Childhood Wounds Can Shape Adult Relationships
The ways we learned to seek comfort as children tend to follow us into adulthood, and unmet needs from those early years can shape how we argue and how we reach for a partner. Many painful patterns between partners have roots much older than the relationship itself.
Rediscovering Your Identity Beyond Your Relationship
When a relationship ends, many people find that the loss reaches much further than the partnership itself. Over months or years, two lives gradually weave together. Daily routines start to include another person, and plans for the future are built around a shared picture. Friendships overlap.
Screens and Relationships: Staying Connected in a Digital World
Technology promises to keep couples close, offering constant text access, video calls across distances, and shared photos throughout each day. At the same time, a phone on the dinner table or a laptop open during a movie night can pull attention away from a partner sitting nearby.



