I’m a psychotherapist and the founder of Break The Frame Psychotherapy, where I help adults untangle the complicated, brilliant, overwhelmed, beautifully human parts of themselves—without asking them to shrink, sanitize, or “just breathe through it” if that’s not their thing.

My practice supports people navigating trauma, neurocomplexity, chronic illness, queerness, identity shifts, relationships, and the exhaustion of being a human in a world that prefers tidy categories. Spoiler: you don’t have to fit into one for us to work well together.

I work with clients across Maryland, Virginia, and DC through online therapy that is affirming, relational, nonjudgmental, and occasionally peppered with a well-timed eyebrow raise of solidarity.

A Bit More About Me

Before and concurrent to my work in the clinical world, I spent years in advocacy, non-profit, political and leadership roles that required navigating high-stress environments, complex human dynamics, and institutional change. These experiences inform my therapeutic approach, particularly my understanding of burnout, executive functioning load, identity conflict, and the emotional labor carried by neurodivergent, queer, and chronically ill adults.

I bring a mix of clinical training, lived experience, and deep emotional intelligence to my work. My life—both personal and professional—is rooted in showing up for people whose brilliance, sensitivity, and complexity have been overlooked or misunderstood.

Areas of Specialty

Rachael sees individuals and partners

Trauma & Complex Trauma
For people whose nervous systems have been running marathons for years without any training plan.

• C-PTSD

• Attachment and relational trauma

• Chronic stress and burnout

• Trauma layered with health conditions

• Dissociation and Dissociative disorders

• Religious trauma and cultic abuse

Neurocomplexity
Whether you’re Autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, sensory-driven, or simply wired left-of-center, you deserve therapy that gets it.

• Nervous system regulation

• Masking and burnout

• Executive functioning support

Chronic Illness & Disability
For those whose bodies have their own plot twists.

• hEDS, MCAS, POTS

• Chronic pain

• Medical trauma

LGBTQIA+ & Queer-Affirming Therapy
Your identity isn’t the problem—it's often the context you're moving through.

• Queer and gender-expansive care

• ENM and polyamory

• Relationship complexity

How I Work
(AKA: What It Actually Feels Like)

I combine EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems (IFS), feminist theory, queer theory, and a relational, liberation-oriented lens. In plain language:
I pay attention to your brain, your body, your history, your identities, your environment, and the parts of you that developed incredible strategies to keep you alive—even if they’re now a little… outdated.

Clients describe me as:

• Warm but not coddling

• Direct but not harsh

• Gentle but not passive

• Thoughtful with a sprinkle of humor

• The kind of therapist who says “let’s slow that down,” not “have you tried a bubble bath?”

I don’t expect you to pour your heart out on session one. You can ease in, dip a toe, or cannonball—whatever your system needs.

My Theoretical Roots

EMDR

For rewiring stuck trauma responses—not for reliving your worst memories in HD.

Somatic Experiencing

Because your body often tells the truth faster than your words do.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

You’re not “too much”; you’re just made of many brilliant parts, each doing their best with what they had.

Feminist + Queer Theory

Your experiences don’t exist in a vacuum; neither should your therapy.

Liberation & Social Justice Lens

We consider the systems you’re part of, not just the symptoms you carry.

What You Can Expect

A space where you can:

• Be complex without apologizing

• Explore your identity without educating your therapist

• Talk about chronic illness without being dismissed

• Be queer, trans, ENM, kinky, neurodivergent, or any combination thereof—without judgment

• Learn your nervous system’s language

• Release survival patterns at your pace

I’m not here to make you more “manageable.”
I’m here to help you become more you—with clarity, compassion, boundaries, humor, and a little bit of rebellion.

If any of this feels like a deep exhale, we may be a good fit.