Rachel Wiederhoeft Registered Associate CSW, TF-CBT, Palliative Care, SafeTALK

As a descendant of the European diaspora to the United States and inheritor of white privilege, I intimately know the challenges related to unlearning, disembodying and shaking off of white supremacy and capitalism. Finding your voice and standing up for a decolonized world is possible with safe, slow, steady examination of the self irrespective of ethnic/racial/cultural background. We have all been saturated in the dominant narrative but it is not permanent.

Chronic pain, illness and or disability is often invisible and the exhaustion related to asking for accommodations (and often not getting them) are real. There is also a grief process related to the the loss of ability, work and other related challenges. Together, we can explore your challenges, find resources and just sit in your feels.

Burnout can result from any burden, but it is especially real when related to work. The pressure to succeed, the intimacy of work-related identity and the very real consequences of not earning an income foster all kinds of emotions and physical symptoms. And a lot of common techniques like "just go on a walk at lunch" aren't practical. Together, we will explore coping strategies that work for your workplace, hone your strategies for interpersonal professional relationships and find ways to rest.

CBT is not for everyone. It often ignores things outside of your control and can demand you just "think differently". But when it is used with trauma in mind, as with Trauma-Focused CBT, it can help rewire your brain by helping you see that you are safe, loved and out of harms way in certain places. It helps you see the people, places and events currently in front of you as they are, not as they were when you were harmed in the past.

IFS is the hot therapy technique for a reason - it works - even though you can feel really weird doing it sometimes. What do you mean I have little ones inside of me that take over and affect my behavior? What do you mean I can talk to them and eventually they stop doing the behavior? It sounds strange but I like to think of it as learning your life story. When we experience trauma, we develop coping strategies that worked once but no longer. Learning why and empathizing helps us heal.

EFT is a scaffold of safety to feel our feels. By providing a lot of validation through repetition, reflecting and empathizing, I foster a sense of safety for you to dive deeper into your experiences and feel seen. So much of where we "get stuck" is because we felt unseen when something happened. When we receive the opposite, we unstick and heal.

As a descendant of the European diaspora and benefactor of white privilege/colonization of the US, while also having several marginalized identities, I have personal lived experience with doing the work to decolonize myself and live up to my anti-oppressive values. I know this work is destabilizing, challenging and can disrupt your sense of self. Yet, exploring these issues and discovering who you are in this world when you start living up to your values is possible and invaluable.

Toxic workplaces are everywhere and having to stay is often our only option. It's also likely the common coping skills like deep breathing or going on a walk at lunch isn't feasible. Together we can dive into practical solutions, gossip about that annoying coworker and create a sense of peace within the capitalistic system. That way you'll reduce your stress and stave off burnout.

Chronic pain, life-altering illness and or disability spills into every part of your life, is your constant companion and is often completely misunderstood by everyone in your life. Together we can explore what it means to be in constant pain, have to ask for accommodations or how you see yourself as sick.

IFS is popular because it works even though it's a bit "out there." By talking to those inner voices, we discover your story and how you got to where you are. There's no judgment of actions - only reasoning and the ability to make different choices going forward.

I consider EFT our scaffolding to the healing journey. It provides structure to our conversations so that you feel seen, heard and validated in your experiences, as well as offers gentle nudging towards new perspectives and ways of feeling.

CBT isn't for everyone. It can be dismissive of your environment and situations outside of your control. But when it's Trauma-Focused, the conversation changes a little and allows us to distinguish between your past and the present. It fosters your ability to see safety today even though you're activated/triggered due to past danger. Together, we can use this style to help you cope.