Who Am I?
Hey! My name is Rachael, but feel free to call me Rach.
Growing up in Alberta, I moved from a small hamlet to a small town, and finally to Edmonton. The diversity in the areas I have lived in has allowed me to cultivate a variety of interests from outdoors activities, like camping and hiking, to embracing the arts by supporting and visiting art galleries, theatre, and music.
As a kid, I always wanted a career helping people and originally was pursuing a career as a medical doctor. However, as I got older, I noticed the increased need for mental health workers and felt that pursuing a career in counselling and psychology was a better fit for me. I was drawn to counselling as there is greater time dedicated to learning and developing understanding and a relationship with a client and their situation prior to working on developing solutions. I have found that helping people through developing that healing connection, which is often missing with doctors, was more important to me than all the cool science stuff medical doctors learn. However, I am still very much a nerd about the science of the human body and mind, and am always willing to learn more or talk about the biological and chemical processes that make us tick.
Working With Me
During our first session we will begin by discussing the important ethical information of engaging in therapy, what a registered provisional psychologist is, and the role of my supervisor. Then we will begin learning more about you and what brought you to therapy.
When I think about mental health, I like to compare it to the weather. Sometimes everything is good, at times we can tell a storm is brewing (problems starting), now and then we find ourselves in the middle of a massive storm, and other times we are cleaning up after a storm. No matter what the weather is like in your world, I am here to help you maintain the calm, navigate through the storm, or clean up after. My role is to help you develop and recognize the skills needed to ensure you can handle whatever weather (mental health issues) come your way.
Even though I am here to help you prepare or find your way through difficult times, you are still the expert in all things you. So, as we work together, it is important to openly communicate about what you are experiencing so we can make sure we tailor our work to your needs. And, if you feel like I am not the right fit for you, that is okay too! We can work together to find someone who is (Therapist are sort of like shoes, not every shoe is the right fit but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options)
