Rachel Bloodworth

Last updated: 03 Jul, 2024

Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for the families in our community. We would love if you could start by telling us a little bit about you:

Q: What made you decide to become a therapist?

I've always had a natural curiosity about people and have wanted to help people in many ways, including helping them "fix" their problems. This desire to fix people has been refined through training and experience into wanting to support people as they move along their own journeys.

Q: How many years have you been practicing?

I returned to the counseling field in 2019, after a long break to have my own babies, and in the meantime worked in the birth field as a doula, child birth educator, midwife assistant, and was working towards LLL leadership for a time.

As a chapter leader for ICAN of Chattanooga I realized there was a lack of understanding around the unique and often life-altering nature of giving birth and becoming a mother. My return to counseling was, in part, prompted by a desire to provide informed pre and postpartum counseling support.

Q: What licenses and certifications do you have and which professional organizations do you belong to?

I am a LPC-MHSP in Tennessee, working towards Somatic Experiencing Practioner (SEP) certification.

Q: How many clients have you had with postpartum depression and/or birth trauma?

Approximately ½ to 2/3rds of my clients at any given time come because of issues related to pre or postpartum anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma related to giving birth, or miscarriage/infant loss.

Q: What is your general philosophy and approach to helping? Are you more directive or more guiding?

My approach to counseling is guiding and collaborative. I think it's important that the client know that they always get to determine what is or isn't addressed, that they feel safe to move towards or away from a topic, and that I trust the wisdom of their system and am present to support, guide and become curious with them about what is showing up.

Q: How often do you seek peer consultation?

I participate in peer consultation approximately monthly. This occurs with a group of other local therapists as well as individual and group consultations related to my ongoing training in Somatic Experiencing.

Q: How do you set up counseling goals? What are they like? What is success for you?

I hold counseling goals loosely, based on a client's stated reasons for starting therapy. I consider these general destinations to arrive at, while the work is done on a journey that may look like it's headed somewhere else for a while. Again, I trust an individual's system to know innately what safe and what needs to show up and be addressed to heal and move forward.

Success is client change for the better; showing up in life with more ease, capacity to navigate the stressors, relief from past traumas, healthier ways of relating to self and others.

Q: What is a typical session like? How long are the sessions?

Sessions last 50-55 minutes, unless we make plans in advance to go longer for a specific purpose. A typical session often begins with settling in to the space and our time together in some way, whether that's intentional orienting or some brief chit chat. I may follow up on a skill, practice, or tool that the client planned to implement from previous sessions, and find out what's coming up for the client. This may be current or old/past stuff (issues, stories, beliefs).

From there we often begin exploring what comes up. That may involve some problem solving and/or psychoeducation if relevant. It is often our invitation to utilize Somatic Experiencing and in small and sometimes big ways, work with the nervous system to discharge and integrate what is showing up so that it can complete and doesn't need to keep recycling/repeating. It helps us settle the past in the past, whether that is memories, emotions, behaviors, or physical sensations.

Q: What kind of homework/reading do you give clients?

If we've uncovered and discussed a new skill or approach to situations/relationships I may remind and encourage clients to be mindful of and practice those when the opportunity arises. And if there is a book website, or podcast that is relevant to the issues being presented I might share that as a resource if the client has the energy, space and time to look into it, recognizing that most new moms or moms with young children are often just trying to get through the day and the luxury of having time and mental space to take in more information isn't always available to them in their current season of life.

Q: How would I prepare for my first session?

There isn't much to do to prepare other than fill out the tedious paperwork :) The more information provided in the intake, the less time we'll need to spend in session uncovering a client's history and background. And at the same time, a new client has likely never met me and may not feel safe, consciously or not, revealing so much about themselves to a complete stranger. So it's also okay if the story unfolds more slowly over time in sessions.

Q: Where will you see me? At your office? Do you offer virtual options?

I offer in person and virtual sessions. My personal preference is in person, however I have clients I've only ever seen virtually and we're able to do the same work together.

Q: How much is an initial visit with you? Is any of this covered by insurance?

My hourly fee is $125/55min. I don't currently take insurance. I am however, able to provide a superbill for clients who are comfortable with, and qualify for, being given a diagnosis, if they would like to submit the superbill to insurance for out-of-network reimbursement.

Q: What kind of services do you offer currently, and how could someone get in touch with you?

I currently see almost adults (generally 17 and up if it feels like a good fit for us), and adults. I am trained in EMDR, however I am using Somatic Experiencing more often as a gentler but very effective way to address traumas, big and small.