Yuri Rhema is a counseling graduate student and expressive arts practitioner with a background in performing arts and behavioral health. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Agnes Scott College, where her work is rooted in trauma-informed and culturally responsive care and continues to evolve through clinical training and creative exploration.

Yuri’s foundation in expressive therapies began at Lesley University, where she studied the Expressive Therapies Continuum and explored the role of the arts in processing trauma, emotion, and identity. She is especially drawn to narrative therapy and the ways individuals come to understand and re-author their lived experiences.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. Storytelling and creative expression remain central to how Yuri understands healing. This perspective was further deepened through her work in an acute psychiatric setting as an expressive arts activity therapist, where she supported individuals through creativity, connection, and emotional expression. As the founder of Current Healing Arts, an emerging healing arts initiative, she developed a restorative movement grounding workshop, which she facilitates as a volunteer in her community, integrating emotional freedom technique with movement, breathwork, expressive arts, and somatic practices.

Before transitioning into counseling, Yuri worked as a Registered Behavior Technician and educator, supporting children and families across diverse settings. These experiences shaped her commitment to ethical and neurodiversity-affirming care and her advocacy for individuals, particularly those who are late-diagnosed and from historically marginalized communities, seeking to understand themselves beyond deficit-based frameworks.

Yuri is especially drawn to trauma and grief work. She is interested in supporting women who have experienced medical trauma related to chronic illness, as well as individuals navigating identity and healing from religious trauma. She also holds space for artists who have felt discouraged, paused in their path, or disconnected from their creative voice. At the heart of her work is a desire to create space for clients to process lived experiences and reconnect with their inner voice.

Bringing the arts into healing is central to Yuri’s approach. She integrates movement, creativity, and reflective dialogue, offering a grounded presence and valuing authenticity, collaboration, and each person’s unique path.

Outside of her work, Yuri is drawn to stillness and moments of silence that allow space to slow down and reconnect. She finds joy in instrumental music, a good yoga class, & traveling, especially to places near water like Santa Monica Beach, and in the comfort of a good book and some tea. She also enjoys writing poetry and spoken word, playing Scrabble with friends, and exploring sensory experiences such as sound baths and immersive museums. Occasionally, she likes to attend live musical productions which keeps her connected to her love of performance and storytelling.