Rachel Burns, LCMHC

Being human is learning how to let go.

I am a licensed clinical mental health counselor who works relationally and with deep respect for the body’s wisdom. Much of my work is shaped by my own healing from religious harm and the long process of learning how to trust myself again. I am not here to fix you or move you toward a version of yourself that fits someone else’s expectations. I am here to be with you in what is real, right now.

Many people come to this work during a season of shedding — questioning what they were taught to believe, disentangling from systems or relationships that caused harm, or realizing how much energy has gone into performing instead of living. Often, the body has been carrying the weight long before the mind has words for it.

My work begins there.

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My Path to Healing Work

I came to the healing profession through my own need for support with my mental health as a college student. I did not have language for it then, but over time I began to unravel the effects of religious trauma and the long return to embodied spirituality. Growing up in a fundamentalist environment taught me early to distrust my inner life — my emotions, desires, and bodily knowing. Healing required unlearning what I had been taught about selfhood, womanhood, whiteness, and identity, and slowly rebuilding a relationship with my own nervous system.

Therapy became meaningful to me not as a set of techniques, but as a relational space where presence made healing possible. My training includes EMDR, which I integrate within a body-aware, consent-based approach when it supports processing and integration.

I have worked across a range of clinical settings and alongside many clients navigating trauma, spiritual harm, family conflict, and identity transitions. Again and again, I have witnessed that healing does not come from pressure or performance, but from attuned presence and respect for the body’s pace.

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What It’s Like to Work with Me

Sessions with me are steady, relational, and consent-based. We pay attention not only to what you say, but to what your body is communicating — through sensation, emotion, and nervous system response.

I do not rush insight or push for resolution. I am interested in what is emerging now and how your system is organizing around it. Together, we notice patterns, protective responses, and places where your body learned to brace or shut down in order to survive.

Healing here is learning how to trust yourself again.

That trust is rebuilt through listening — to your emotions, your body, and your lived experience. My role is to offer skilled presence, structure when helpful, and a steady relational anchor as you reconnect with your own internal signals.

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Who I Tend to Work With

My practice is especially shaped by work with:

  • People healing from religious trauma or spiritual harm

  • Individuals who feel exhausted from performing or self-monitoring

  • Members of the queer community seeking embodied, affirming care

  • Adults healing from complex childhood trauma, sexual abuse, or relational harm

  • Therapists and caregivers navigating burnout or identity shifts

You do not need to have language for everything you are experiencing.

You do not need to know where you are going. We work with what is here.

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A Gentle Invitation

If you are longing for a therapeutic relationship that honors your full humanity — body, emotions, history, and intuition — you are welcome here.

We can begin with a consultation to see if this is a good fit. You don't need to have everything figured out or know exactly what to say, your willingness to reach out is all you need.

Connect with me:

  • Clinical Practice Inquiries

  • Podcast Guest Opportunities

  • General Inquiries

If you are reaching out about therapy, please include a brief note about what you are seeking and your location. I will respond as I am able.