Greetings! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. During my undergraduate career at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland I studied Psychology with a minor in Family Studies. I then proceeded to earn a Master's degree in Marriage and Family therapy in Los Angeles, California from the University of Southern California. I have been providing therapy to children, teens, adults, families, and couples for over 10 years. I am passionate about helping the clients I work with come into alignment with their truest wants, needs and desires and develop of sense of clarity and direction over their life. My intention is to create a warm, safe, and comfortable space, where client's can feel heard and supported as we work together to navigate the various challenges at hand.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, clients can expect for us to get better acquainted with their intention for seeking therapy and the desired outcome. I love to come in with curiosity and enthusiasm and do my best to instill hope. There will be an opportunity to ask any questions regarding me, my experience, my approach, what it's like to work with me, or about therapy in general.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I believe I am able to bring light and positive energy to what can tend to be quite a heavy space. As a therapist, I truly feel that I am living out my purpose and utilizing the gifts I was given. I get the most satisfaction out of witnessing my clients heal and seeing them grow into who they were destined to be.
About Rachael Topel
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have spent years utilizing a CBT approach when providing therapy to my clients. I continue to work with this modality because I find it extremely effective at improving mental health challenges that stem from unhelpful thought patterns. If we work to change the way we think about something, we can ultimately change how it makes us feel and how it causes us to behave and show up in the world.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I have extensive experience utilizing a solution-focused approach due its effectiveness at helping my clients feel empowered and optimistic and therefore ready to heal more quickly. The idea behind a solution-focused approach is to help clients identify ways in which they have control over their problems. This form of therapy acts as guidance to support the client in problem-solving around the various challenges they are trying to cope with.
Psychodynamic
Although psychodynamic is not the modality I utilize the most, I find it important at times to incorporate it into the therapy I provide. It is often necessary that we understand how our earliest life experiences create unconscious beliefs that impact our view of self, others, and the world.