Get To Know Me

Hello Hello Hello! I’m Rachel, the founder and OG counsellor behind The Hive. When I got into private practice my focal point was Moms, meeting moms at all stages where they were at and helping them learn to thrive in motherhood. Since then I have broadened my specialities to ADHD & couples work- I would definitely say these two client demographics are my jam.

My Path To Counselling

My path to counselling is windy and deep rooted in my own lived experiences. As the daughter of someone who struggled with substance use, mental health was at the forefront of my childhood, and those experiences had a long standing impact on me- and still do even today. At 14 I read In Search Of April Raintree by recommendation of a teacher, who I’m sure knew I would benefit from the literature, and boy was she right. This book planted not only the understanding that others experienced what I had ( and would continue to for many years), but that you could take those experiences, heal from them and help others heal as well. I initially started my degree with the intent of working for the ministry in child protection, hoping to be the support children in care needed to thrive, heal and break the cycle. After experiencing that career I realized that trying to help others wasn’t something that would only be impactful with children, but that people of all ages needed mental health support in order to thrive and break generational cycles. Tailoring my education to look at individual mental health, along with family dynamics and social institutions helped me develop a unique understand of mental wellness and solidified my career path.

My Approach To Therapy

My approach to therapy really depends on the client, their experiences, what they have tried previously and what their end goal is. I would never approach counselling someone with ADHD the same way I would a couple struggling with infidelity, or an adult child grieving a parent they had to become estranged from. Your counselling experience with me is as unique as you are, there is no cookie cutting here. Regardless of the initial concern is, one thing stands omnipresent in my approach, and that is person centred and strength based care; let’s look at where you feel strong and resilient, and build on that with realistic and implementable skills. Counselling is only effective if it’s realistic and easy to use in your day to day life.

If we want to get technical about skills and training I am a multi-modality practitioner using a variety of therapy skills: somatic experiencing, CBT, DBT, Internal Family Systems, and Gottman Theory are just a few of my approaches- but again it depends on what resonates with you.

  • My thumbs are two different lengths, and widths down to the nail shape.

  • I am forever chaotically busy haha. I have three sons (two with ADHD) and they are very active in sports- so you will find me courtside at a basketball game, pool side for swimming lessons, or on the field with my husband coaching baseball and soccer. When I do get leisure time I like to spend it in nature- give me a body of water, a mountain or some dense trees.

  • It’s a three way tie. 1) The way my husband smells after work (he’s a HD mechanic so think metal shavings and diesel). 2) A fritolicious basset hound- if you know you know. 3) The way raw earth smells after a good rain.

  • Can I make it a meal? Steak & a margarita on ice

  • Sunflower yellow. You can’t be sad looking at that color.

  • Probably a two way tie between grieving my father & a late life BPD diagnosis.

  • This is too hard to answer it varies so much depending on the mood and the day. Otis Redding, Lainey Wilson, Ice Cube.. it’s so random.

    Fun story: I had a really hard week at work and on friday driving home I was Jamming (my husband said he could hear me turn onto our block for volume reference) and at a red light after “performing” my favourite chorus I look over and see a client. She proceeds to turn on the same song and cranks the volume.

  • It’s my take on Yehuda Bergs quote “hurt people, hurt people”. My version is “Hurt people can heal people.”