Rachel Chistyakov
Rachel Chistyakov
(she/her)
Hi! My name is Rachel Chistyakov and I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with my Doctorate in Couple and Family Therapy. My approach to therapy focuses on healing, connection, and emotional insight. I focus on these therapeutic factors to better allow individuals, kids, teenagers, and families to reach their goals and improve their lives. I work collaboratively with my clients to tailor treatment so that whatever may be affecting them can be worked through in a safe and comfortable environment. Besides being a therapist, I am an Adjunct Professor and I teach psychology Master's students. I also volunteer with my local library and animal rescues whenever I can.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
First sessions with me will include a thorough intake and assessment process so I can learn more about what is bringing you in, what you want to work on, what's worked and not worked in the past, and then we can begin to create a collaborative treatment plan together. We will explore any troubling thoughts, feelings, or patterns that you are experiencing and we will find ways for you to move forward through any transition in life.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I am compassionate, kind, empathetic, and open with my clients. I adhere to professional boundaries and ethics while still showing up as myself in sessions and connecting with my clients from a very real, honest place. I don't hide behind the mask of a professional and allow myself to be genuine with my clients, which helps foster a strong therapeutic alliance.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I utilize different treatment modalities like EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, attachment-based therapy, somatic therapy, and Bowen Family Systems Theory (amongst others) to bring clients the best treatment for their personalized needs. Some of my specialty areas include grief & loss, PTSD and trauma, child and adolescent therapy, family therapy, depression, and anxiety.
About Rachel Chistyakov
I identify as
Serves ages
Licensed in
Appointments
VirtualMy treatment methods
EMDR
After experiencing EMDR myself and witnessing how transformative it can be, I got trained in this modality and am able to provide it virtually. EMDR is helpful in processing trauma, and also works with other mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, phobias, maladaptive habits, etc. It's said that EMDR is like fitting 10 talk therapy sessions into 1; the work can be intense, but clients can generally see relief from symptoms pretty quickly when done consistently.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT is based in attachment theory, experiential therapy, humanistic therapy, and systemic therapy. It can be used with individuals, couples, families, and kids. Emotion is seen as the mechanism of change and it's the main focus of therapy. EFT focuses on how emotions can guide us in our interpersonal relationships, how our emotions impact how we view ourselves and the world around us, and how our emotions can spiral out of control. We will work on emotional regulation skills along with communication skills and interpersonal skills, with a heavy focus on attachment-related work.
Couples Counseling
I am trained in EFT for couples, the Gottman Method, and Imago Relationship Therapy. I also teach courses on couple's therapy at my university and frequently consult with students and colleagues about couples and family therapy. With couples, I work collaboratively with both partners to slow things down, de-escalate conflict, lower the intensity of emotions, and create safety within the relationship. Then, once safety and respect is re-established, we can dive into deeper concerns and negative interaction patterns so that partners can co-create their dream relationship together.
Grief Therapy
I am a Motherless Daughter and lost my mom when I was 15, and I have lost many other family members after her death as well. Because of my experiences with grief and loss, I've dedicated a large portion of my practice to helping others process and heal from losses that they've experienced. With grief therapy, we will create a safe and comforting space for you to talk about and process the loss that you've experienced. There will be no judgement as you go through the many different emotions that come up with grief.
Somatic
I am currently getting trained in Somatic Experiencing, which is a trauma-treatment modality, so while I cannot offer the entire modality fully, I use components from my training to tie in somatic work throughout most of my sessions to help foster the mind-body connection.