Practitioner record · Checked 8 Nov 2026

Kristen Hale has been in practice 18 years and is licensed in Hawaii. Kristen lists stress, Anxiety, family conflicts and trauma and abuse among 32 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Kristen's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

18years in practice
32subjects listed
9approaches listed

01 · Who Kristen works with

Kristen works with stress, Anxiety, family conflicts and trauma and abuse

Kristen lists 14 specialisms and 18 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”.

Specialisms
  • Stress, Anxiety
  • Family conflicts
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Self esteem
  • Depression
  • Addictions
  • Relationship issues
  • Grief
  • Intimacy-related issues
  • Parenting issues
  • Anger management
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Coping with life changes
  • ADHD
Also experienced with
  • Abandonment
  • Adoption and foster care
  • Attachment issues
  • Avoidant personality
  • Blended family issues
  • Communication problems
  • Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
  • Family problems
  • Guilt and shame
  • Impulsivity
  • Mood disorders
  • Panic disorder and panic attacks
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Self-harm
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Social anxiety and phobia
  • Women's issues
  • Young adult issues

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 Clinical Social Worker and have been practicing for over 15 years. I hold independent clinical licenses in Hawaii, Colorado and New Mexico.

My approach to therapy is to build trusting relationships that allow for honesty and authenticity. I strive to assist people of any age to recognize their natural potential and learn to move past unhealthy patterns and develop new narratives. I specialize in trauma related conditions, depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance use disorders, acting out behavioral problems, parenting, couples and family conflict.

In therapy I draw upon my training in EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Family Systems to promote sustainable change. I like to focus on healthy communication and use various tools to promote health relationships.

I commend you for taking the first step towards feeling better. Feeling comfortable and safe with your therapist is important and necessary for the change process to unfold. I encourage you to reach out and contact me to see if working together in therapy feels like a good fit.

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

03 · How Kristen works

The 9 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.

Attachment-Based Therapy
Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.
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”.
Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT
Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT
A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR
A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.
Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT
Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.
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.
Narrative Therapy
Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.
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 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based 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 18 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
LCSW
Licensed in
Hawaii
Licence
HI LCSW LCSW-4478, CO LCSW 1001
Licence number
LCSW-4478
Licence expires
30 Jun 2028
NPI
1366775751
Years in practice
18
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.

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