Kristen El Yaouti

Kristen El Yaouti is a Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) with the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, as well as a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) with the North American Drama Therapy Association. She specializes in the treatment of trauma. She is particularly passionate about working with adults processing past physical, sexual, emotional and mental abuse and neglect. Her approach often focuses on what it means to give gratitude to all the ways our bodies and minds have learned to manage our trauma and keep us alive, while examining the cost of maintaining these habits and strategies into a safer present and future.

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Kristen received her Masters in Counseling from California Institute of Integral Studies’s drama therapy program. Her thesis was on the utility of practicing online trauma-informed drama therapy influenced by polyvagal theory and somatic experiencing, acknowledging the implications, challenges and benefits of telehealth.
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Prior to transitioning to private practice, Kristen worked as the lead group therapist for both the trauma and expressive arts therapy programs at Compass Health Center, a partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient facility. There she utilized Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).