It’s important work to step into counseling as an individual or with your loved ones. I admire those who make this commitment to growth and well-being. I’m honored to come alongside clients, providing therapeutic space to be honest without judgment. I’m passionate about giving clients autonomy, providing clarity, and being open to their feedback. I believe therapy is a collaborative process where both client and therapist play important roles: the client bringing their holistic self, and the therapist empathizing, tracing patterns, providing curiosity and insight, and working together toward meeting goals and living out personal values.

I enjoy working with couples, families, individual men, women, and teens! I have experience working in non-profit outpatient counseling centers and addiction treatment centers in addition to private practice. I especially enjoy helping families affected by addiction, working with couples longing to get unstuck and to experience lasting connection, and empowering teens with space to process and skills to manage stressors. I’m also passionate about supporting individuals through transitions across the lifespan, and through personal and spiritual identity work.

I am a Clinical Psychologist and trauma specialist with expertise in intimate betrayal and infidelity. I help women heal from the devastating aftermath of sexual betrayal, infidelity, and other forms of intimate partner betrayal. I am a Certified Sex Therapist (CST), Certified Clinical Partners Specialist (CCPS), and Certified Sexual and Relational Trauma Therapist (CSRTT).

My clients are often facing the painful aftermath of infidelity and trying to pick up the pieces of their life. You may feel overwhelmed with emotions, struggle with obsessive thoughts, have physical symptoms of stress, and may feel completely alone and unsure what to do next. I can help you alleviate your trauma symptoms, manage triggers, learn strategies to work through the pain, silence the inner voice telling you that you're not good enough and achieve a state of calmness again.

I use trauma-informed empirically based techniques for effective and lasting change. I also incorporate mindfulness strategies for mind-body re-connection to heal the physical symptoms of trauma.

I am incredibly passionate about my work and believe that each person is worthy and deserving of healing. I believe a collaborative approach to therapy works best. I would love to hear your story and help you reach your therapeutic goals.

Rachel Hilker is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist providing Telehealth therapy services to clients residing in Virginia. Rachel specializes in providing Gottman Method Couple Therapy to married and premarital clients and trauma-informed individual therapy for women.

In 1997, I received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University where I was trained in the use of Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioral therapies with adults and adolescents. My post graduate training includes EMDR and Internal Family Systems therapies. I draw on all of these approaches in my work to help people create happier, more fulfilling lives for themselves and their families.

My therapeutic focus includes transitions in adolescence and adulthood, trauma, navigating divorce and post-divorce relationships, and the anxiety and distress that accompany these experiences. I also help mothers and fathers navigate the difficult job of raising children, from infancy through young adulthood, in all types of family configurations. Together, with compassion, we can understand the origins of your distress, what keeps it present in your life, and what changes need to be made to let it go.

In addition to relying on traditional talk therapies, we can draw upon my non-traditional training. I offer EMDR therapy, a highly effective treatment for trauma that can also be helpful when you feel stuck after trying talk therapy to manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. And we can choose to use mindfulness techniques drawing upon my decades of practicing and teaching yoga and meditation.

If you are seeking help with any stage of divorce, my training as a divorce mediator may also be helpful in understanding and navigating the process you are going through.