Get To Know Me:

Rachel Lockhart BSW.,RSW.

Hello Hello Hello! I’m Rachel, the founder and registered social worker 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 has been winding and deeply rooted in my own lived experiences. As the daughter of someone who struggled with substance use, mental health was always present in my childhood. Those early experiences shaped me in lasting ways, and they continue to influence how I understand pain, resilience, and healing today.

When I was 14, a teacher recommended In Search of April Raintree, and it changed me. For the first time, I saw my own experiences reflected in a story. It showed me that I wasn’t alone, that others had lived through similar pain, and that healing was possible. More than that, it planted the idea that our experiences, even the hardest ones, could be transformed into something meaningful and helpful for others. I began my degree with the goal of working in child protection, hoping to be the support that children in care needed to heal, grow, and break cycles.

Through that work, I realized that the need for healing doesn’t end in childhood. People of all ages deserve support to process their experiences, understand themselves, and change the patterns that no longer serve them. I shifted my focus toward individual mental health, family dynamics, and social systems, which gave me a deeper and more holistic understanding of wellness.

Over time, I discovered that my true passion and strength lie in working with adults. So many of us are wounded children at heart, carrying old pain into our relationships, parenting, and sense of self. I believe healing ourselves is one of the most powerful ways we can prevent further harm, both to ourselves and to the people we love.

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.”