Kristen Blocker, BA
Graduate Student Intern
Kristen Blocker is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Adler University while working as a Graduate Student Intern at The Aspen Center. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Child and Family Studies at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville (UTK). As an undergraduate, Kristen worked as a Research Assistant in the Psychology Department, where she studied topics including shared attention and its influences on affiliation; false memories relating to primacy and recency effects in memory recall; the correlation between stigma and cultural relationality; shared attention and its impact on political persuasion; and how stigmatized individuals buffer against death-related thoughts using Terror Management Theory.
After graduation, Kristen was an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapist, working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder—work that made her realize she wanted to further her education and pursue a career in psychotherapy. This brought her to Chicago’s Adler University.
Kristen is dedicated to helping survivors of domestic violence and their pets secure safety from abusive environments. Working at The Safe Haven Network has allowed her to advocate for these individuals and their pets by raising awareness of domestic violence and animal cruelty, fundraising resources for domestic violence shelters and animal shelters, and researching policies helping domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly so that survivors are able to seek refuge without fear of leaving family pets with their abusers.
Kristen is excited to be part of The Aspen Center’s team, where she has the opportunity to help individuals, couples, and families work through concerns relating to mental health and other life challenges. Her specific interests include, but are not limited to, working with adults struggling with stress and anxiety, depression, family conflict, self-esteem and body image concerns, eating disorders, trauma, relationships issues, and other concerns related to life transitions, LGBTQIA+, and finding meaning and purpose in life.
