Kristi received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Vocational Ministry from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, focusing her research and studies on cross-cultural counseling, urban youth, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In 1999, Kristi received her Master’s of Arts in Counseling Psychology from George Fox University, further narrowing her focus to play therapy and counseling urban youth. For the over fifteen years, Kristi has been helping others find hope and healing. She has taught young pregnant girls and teenage moms how to care for themselves and their children; she has counseled and mentored incarcerated teenage girls who were preparing to reenter mainstream society; she served as a vital link between families with suspected child abuse and county officials; using counseling and play therapy in an agency setting, she has worked with children and adults on issues such as depression, anxiety, attachment issues, and domestic violence; she has worked in two elementary schools, providing individual and group counseling for children; in 2005, she was chosen to join an international delegation of play therapists to provide training for counselors and mental health aid to children affected by the devastating tsunami that killed thousands in Sri Lanka; and for the past ten years she has worked with a non-profit on improving the lives of children and families in inner Northeast Portland through after school and summer programs, play therapy, and mentoring.

Kristi is fulfilling the requirements for an Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor Registered Intern and is under the supervision of a seasoned and well regarded psychologist and play therapist, Wendy Miller, PsyD of Portland. Kristi is simultaneously working towards her Registered Play Therapist credentials. She is a member of the Association for Play Therapy and the American Association of Christian Counselors. With over 200 education training hours in play therapy, Kristi specializes in this specific approach to counseling children and families.