Rachel Tyler, LMHCA

Rachel Tyler, LMHCA

MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
Pronouns: She/Her

Rachel has always known she wanted to help people, and it's through trial and error that she discovered counseling was the right pathway for her. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences from the University of Washington. She explored social work and school counseling but found that neither field left her feeling fulfilled. Luckily, her graduate program at the University of Puget Sound was a dual-track education and mental health counseling program. Rachel was always drawn to the mental health classes, and when she realized school counseling wasn't for her, she began to intern in community mental health. Rachel immediately knew this was what she was meant to do. 

Rachel worked in community mental health for about a year before her husband's military career took them overseas to a small base in Germany. She found a job as an education/vocational guidance counselor working with soldiers and their families, and she continued in that role for almost six years. Rachel always found the most meaning in the moments when she could connect with students on a deeper level, when they felt safe enough to share with her the personal challenges they faced, and when she could work together with them to recognize and develop strengths and to move from a place of self-doubt to one of self-confidence.

Rachel works with individuals, couples, and families who are dealing with a wide variety of mental health issues and concerns, including but not limited to anxiety, stress, depression, low self-esteem, life transitions, and relational issues. Rachel takes an eclectic approach to therapy; because each client and situation is different, she utilizes various evidenced-based practices tailored to each client. She is most interested in psychodynamic therapy, which involves the exploration of problematic patterns, including how they developed and how to change them. Rachel also finds cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused therapy to be useful approaches. 

Whatever the approach, you'll find Rachel likes to focus on your strengths, and she always defers to you as the expert on yourself. She will never assume she understands your experience better than you do. Rachel will offer a safe space where you can speak freely and without fear of judgment, and together you and she will work to improve your quality of life.

Rachel also believes deeply in your rights to receive services that meet your needs and 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. Rachel is here to assure you that you can comment. To that end, she invites you to ask questions and provide feedback about any and all aspects of the therapeutic experience. She never wants you to sit in quiet discomfort or confusion; if you don't understand something or are unhappy with something that's happening in therapy, she wants you to bring that to the table.

Rachel believes you are so incredibly brave for seeking help, and she is honored to sit with you as you face the painful, difficult parts of your life.

Rachel Tyler is a licensed clinical mental health counselor associate in Washington State (MC61339072, NPI# 1104258821). She is supervised by Sharayah Lewis, LMHC (LH60632926; NPI# 1528479938).