Yiyun Zhao

Yiyun (she/her) is a Mental Health Counseling Intern and currently a second-year graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Mental Studies. Yiyun has experience working in a clinical mental health center, specializing in Eating Disorders, where she provided counseling under supervision to teenage patients with anorexia nervosa. She also has experience in school counseling and workshop facilitation, where she provided individual student counseling and assisted high school senior students in NYC with their college and financial aid applications. Yiyun incorporates both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Relational Therapy orientations into her counseling, while also working towards incorporating trauma-informed therapy. She believes that trauma and pain cannot be ranked, and she especially appreciates the uniqueness of each individual’s experiences. Yiyun believes that everyone possesses the tools to thrive and live a better life; sometimes, people just need guidance in rediscovering how to use them. Outside of her clinical work, Yiyun is a lover of national parks and an Esports gamer. She also enjoys listening to indie folk-rock bands.