Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Svendsen.
Hi Rachael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up across the street from Cal State University Northridge (CSUN). Riding bikes around campus and wandering through the old orange groves are some of the sweet memories I have growing up in The Valley. Years later, I went on to earn my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at CSUN. My own experiences of trauma were what drew me begin therapy for myself. Receiving transformational professional care in my early adulthood was a catalyst for me to want to become a therapist as my career, and CSUN was a very natural choice to make that dream a reality.
During my training, I remained in The Valley for the many hours of clinical work required to gain licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist. At that time, I provided in-home therapy to foster and adoptive families, ran supports groups, supervised and trained incoming therapist trainees and crisis volunteers, and provided crisis accompaniments to survivors of sexual assault. It was incredibly fulfilling to provide these crucial services within my own community.
I now live in the Santa Clarita Valley with my spouse of 15 years, 3 school age children, and my emotional support cat. I run my practice out of Newhall.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The path from first wanting to becoming a therapist to having a successful private practice is definitely long and winding. Attending school, completing the thousands of required supervised hours, and passing multiple state licensure tests takes many therapists 5-7 years. Then, the choice to start my own private practice opened me to a new experience of business owner, having to manage the many responsibilities related to that. Balancing this with parenting young children has me busy AND I’m so grateful for the journey and all I learned along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Rachael Parsons Svendsen, MS, LMFT?
It is my mission to bring care and connection to my clients and my community. I specialize in treating trauma survivors, parents, and therapists.
I offer a variety of services including trauma stabilization treatment, somatic trauma reprocessing, attachment focused therapy, and psychedelic somatic attachment therapy. Stabilization treatment helps trauma survivors learn skills to recognize their triggers and build solid coping skills. Somatic therapy addresses the ways trauma impacts our bodies and nervous systems. Attachment focused therapy offers tools to name and heal the ways we’ve been harmed in our most important relationships. Psychedelic work offers folks a way of going deeper into their trauma reprocessing with a trained facilitator. This is done with much gentleness and a trauma informed approach.
In addition, I specialize in working with the adoptee, queer, and neurodivergent communities and spent 5 years in intensive training related to adoption, foster care, and attachment focused therapy. I am certified in Psychedelic Somatic Interactive Psychotherapy (PSIP) and Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST). I feel so lucky to be able to work my dream job and help my community find inclusive and effective support, care, and healing.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I loved swimming and going to the beach SO much as a child. It is a joy to share swimming and beach trips with my family now. We spend most weekends in the summer at the beach.
I also loved hiking in California’s beautiful forests growing up. From old growth California Live Oak forests to ancient Red Woods, wandering in forests has always given me a way of feeling like I may see a fairy at any moment. I am forever stunned my the beauty of the natural world and began this deep connection in childhood.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rachaelsvendsen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachaelsvendsen/
Image Credits
Tawny Lynn Photography
