About Rachel:
Rachel is an accomplished mental health professional with 15 years experience. She provides strengths- and evidence-based treatment to individuals and groups with a wide array of biological, psychological and social issues. Rachel has a passion for helping clients on their journey to design a life of peace, fulfillment and self-actualization. Rachel specializes in treating people suffering from anxiety.
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She has her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her Master's Degree in Social Work from Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
Rachel has lived in Rockville Centre for 21 years where she currently operates a psychotherapy practice. When Rachel is not working she enjoys yoga, meditation, reading, walking, and spending time in New York City with her family.
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“My mission is to empower clients with the tools they need to successfully transform their mental health challenges and achieve self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-confidence."
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Rachel's Approach:
Rachel provides a safe, supportive, and compassionate space to explore emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Rachel brings her caring, encouraging and solution focused approach to the unique potential of each client. While there is no “one size fits all” philosophy, she relies heavily on a hybrid model of both ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) interventions. She is best able to personalize therapy to meet the individual needs of each client utilizing these two modalities and achieve successful outcomes, particularly with those struggling with anxiety.
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Rachel offers a holistic perspective to her treatment and believes strongly in the mind body connection. Therefore she encourages mindfulness practice, breath-work, movement, intuitive eating and sleep hygiene in conjunction with the aforementioned therapeutic modalities.
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Rachel is particularly skilled in treating anxiety disorders through her successful completion of all requirements for CBT for anxiety and OCD with small group consultation. Rachel was trained by Elizabeth Dupont Spencer and Kimberly Morrow, experts in the fields of OCD and Anxiety Disorders. Rachel is eager to offer her comprehensive, effective assistance to individuals 15 and up struggling with Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Dysregulation, Self-Worth/Self Esteem, Life transitions, Assertiveness, Relationship Challenges, and Grief and Loss.
Therapy Modalities
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT)
I use this evidenced based modality because It works. When we are able to change our relationship with our suffering and raise our awareness as to how our thoughts and feelings may be perpetuating or exacerbating our experiences we hold the key to the castle so to speak. ACT is based on the premise of increasing psychological flexibility but what it looks like to me when I work with clients is taking a deep dive in learning skills that are often counterintuitive to our current understanding of how to work with uncomfortable emotions and unhelpful/unwanted thoughts. When we learn these skills we are less impacted and influenced by our emotional experience, we are able to function in alignment with our values and the happy result is feeling better. Once we make room for these experiences we find that they pass more quickly. I often tell my clients : That which we resist, persists and the more time and energy we spend trying to avoid or get rid of unwanted private experiences the more likely we are to suffer psychologically in the long run.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT)
CBT ( Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ) is often considered the gold standard of treatment for many of our emotional and behavioral challenges and particularly the use of ERP ( Exposure and Response Prevention) which is a form of CBT for anxiety disorders. I utilize CBT to help clients recognize the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. We typically work on recognizing unhelpful thought patterns and begin by challenging some of these self defeating beliefs and creating more neutral thoughts before we are able to simply allow the thoughts to be there without engaging with them. I use ERP to help clients overcome their fears and break free from the grip of anxiety. ERP is a structured, focused modality that is empowering and effective. The goal of exposure is not to feel unafraid, relaxed or safe but rather, willingly experience the anxiety and uncertainty. When we can make room for these feelings, this is paradoxically the path most likely to free us from intense anxiety.