About Me
Rachel Tyler, LMHC
I've always known I wanted to help people, and it's through trial and error that I discovered counseling was the right pathway for me. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences from the University of Washington. I explored social work and school counseling but found that neither field left me feeling fulfilled. Luckily, my graduate program at the University of Puget Sound was a dual-track education and mental health counseling program. I was always drawn to the mental health classes, and when I realized school counseling wasn't for me, I began to intern in community mental health. I immediately knew this was what I was meant to do.
I worked in community mental health for about a year before my partner's military career took us overseas to a small base in Germany. I found a job as an education/vocational guidance counselor working with soldiers and their families, and I continued in that role for almost six years. I always found the most meaning in the moments when I could connect with students on a deeper level, when they felt safe enough to share with me the personal challenges they faced, and when I could work together with them to recognize and develop strengths and to move from a place of self-doubt to one of self-confidence.
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When I moved away from that work and returned to the mental health field, it was like coming home.
Washington is also my home! I spent most of my life in the south Puget Sound area before relocating overseas. Now I find myself in North Carolina offering telehealth sessions, which I find to be a wonderful way to connect while enjoying the freedom to create your own therapy space. As someone with two pups of her own, I welcome pets into the therapy space as well; I've found they often invite themselves anyway (yours, not mine!) and can offer great comfort as we do our work.
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In addition to spending time with my pups outside of work, you might find me enjoying quiet activities like reading and cross stitching or more adventurous activities like going to a concert or traveling. As is often the case in life, it's about balance!
I’m most passionate about what we typically call couples therapy, but which I like to think of as relational therapy – because as we know, relationships are beautifully complex and come in all forms – monogamous and consensually non-monogamous; romantic and platonic; sexual and asexual; made up of two people or more; lifelong or short-term or anything in between; long-distance or local. If you’re a human being in connection and you’re looking for support as you navigate that connection, you’re in the right place!
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I also love working with neurodivergent folks! I’m convinced that if the world made space for us in the same way it does for neurotypical folks, we could rule the world. While the therapeutic work often involves figuring out how to navigate a neurotypical world, it will never be about forcing you to fit into a neurotypical mold. There’s simply no need for that because there is absolutely nothing wrong with you!
My Work
My Approach
My Self
I take an eclectic approach to sessions, which means I draw from different therapeutic modalities to provide you the best care. Whichever approach we decide is best, you'll find that at my core, I'm a strength-based therapist. I can't help but see the wonderful things you're doing, and I love to help you see it too!
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I believe deeply in your freedom and agency, and to that end, you'll find I take a collaborative approach in which we combine our expertise to chart the course of our work together. If you're saying to yourself, "what expertise do I have? She's the therapist," don't forget - no one knows you and your experience better than you, and that makes you an expert too!
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I also believe in your right to receive services that meet your needs and your right to understand and question those services. Often, in therapy, clients know they can speak freely about the issues that brought them to therapy but are unsure about commenting on the therapist or the therapy itself. I'm here to assure you that you can comment! To that end, I invite you to ask questions and provide feedback about any and all aspects of the therapeutic experience. I never want you to sit in quiet discomfort or confusion; if you don't understand something or are unhappy with something that's happening in therapy, I want you to bring that to the table.