Rachel’s interest in social work started in high school. After watching a documentary about the plight of marginalized populations in reaching medical care, Rachel decided to begin volunteering with a social justice organization that delivered meals to people living in  poverty and those with chronic illnesses.

Rachel continued her work with social justice organizations through college and began developing a passion for perinatal mental health issues while working at a community health agency in Boston. Rachel noticed the lack of services provided for people who were pregnant and postpartum, and saw the impact this had on families as a whole. Rachel decided she was most interested in providing direct therapeutic care to individuals, so she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended the University of Southern California and obtained her Master’s of Social Work in 2006.

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As a trauma informed therapist, Rachel worked in community mental health for several years, where she worked with people struggling with a wide range of mental health issues. There she saw first hand the difficulty people had communicating their mental health concerns with their medical providers.

 

In 2014, Rachel decided to begin working with the Psychiatry department at Kaiser Permanente, a large hospital, in Los Angeles. In doing so, Rachel was able to provide care to people who were struggling with perinatal mental health issues, while also advocating for her clients by communicating their mental health needs with their medical team. In 2020, fresh off of her own maternity leave, Rachel decided to design and facilitate the hospital’s first Postpartum Intensive Outpatient Program.

Rachel moved back to Chicago in 2022, where she continues to provide individual therapy for people struggling with mental health issues during and after pregnancy. Her clinical approach is client centered, trauma informed, and informed by psychodynamic and
intersectional feminist theory.

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When Rachel is not working, she enjoys passing on her love of travel to her 4-year-old. Rachel and her family most recently returned from a trip to Mexico City and hope to visit Granada, Spain this Fall.