01 · Who Kristen works with

Kristen works with stress, Anxiety, addictions and trauma and abuse

Kristen lists 16 specialisms and 36 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Kristen chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Kristen's own words

What Kristen says about the work

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

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Pennsylvania with over 20 years of clinical experience in the behavioral health field. I've worked in a variety of treatment settings with a wide range of clients. I have extensive experience treating mental health issues, as well as substance use and process addiction (gambling, eating, sex, spending, etc.) issues. I am truly passionate about helping people in need, having decided to become a counselor at the age of 13. I hold a Bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania with a double major in Psychology and Sociology and double minors in Criminal Justice Corrections and German. I also received a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. My work as a counselor is not just a job, but a true vocation. I am committed to helping each and every one of my clients to live their healthiest life. I look forward to continuing to work to help people to find the peace, joy, and contentment they deserve in their lives. Please note that due to the nature of the Betterhelp.com platform, I am unable to write letters on my client's behalf.

Kristen Gaughan, on the BetterHelp listing · read 8 Nov 2026

03 · How Kristen works

The 6 approaches Kristen lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Kristen lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Kristen'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 Kristen runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

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.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Kristen 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 Kristen'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 Kristen at this point.

2. Naming Kristen specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Kristen 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 Kristen.

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 Kristen

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

• “You list both Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Client-Centred 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.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 23 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.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LPC

Licensed in

Pennsylvania

Licence

PA LPC PC006886

Licence number

PC006886

Licence expires

28 Feb 2027

NPI

1770776874

Years in practice

23

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Kristen'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 8 Nov 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 Kristen. 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.