Rachel Lee, MSW, LSWAIC
Clinical Counselor
(Pronouns: she/her)
Insurance
- Premera/Lifewise
- BCBS (most plans)
Contact information
- Rachel@interconnectionshealing.com
- 206.659.5945, ext. 23
A Bit About Me
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to learn about me.
My name is Rachel and I’m a Korean-American (my parents immigrated to the US from South Korea in their teens) cisgender woman. I hail from the East Coast/Midwest but recently moved to Seattle after spending 10 years in Denver, Colorado (as well as some time working in the Bay Area). I came to Social Work and Psychotherapy in a somewhat non-linear way. I received my Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Spanish, and then spent time working in Health Technology with a focus on making health and mental health resources more accessible to those suffering from chronic conditions. Over the last decade I’ve worked with refugees, prospective first-generation college students, youth, and people experiencing trauma and PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and in academic and educational settings.
I am committed to empowering individuals at pivotal points in their lives by underscoring their strengths and building up the tools in their toolboxes. My work is rooted in a collaborative, relational, and compassionate framework that considers the full experience of the client’s intersecting identities. I feel strongly about creating transparent, inclusive, and supportive spaces for people in transitional stages. I’ve always been fascinated with how change, transition and our relationships affect our wellbeing and aim to provide a supportive and co-creative space to help navigate these experiences. I’m especially passionate about helping queer people and people of color discover their inner strengths and learn new skills to foster connection, hope, and resilience in their lives.
In my free time you can find me perusing cute bookstores and farmers markets, practicing yoga, cooking, reading (mostly fiction), dancing, or doing anything outside with my sweet dog Maple. My life philosophy involves always learning and lots of boba 😉
My biggest goal is to provide a safe and supportive space where you feel empowered to nurture your truest self. I am process oriented and use a warm, curious, and compassionate approach that honors each individual’s journey and experience. I operate from a trauma informed and strengths based lens that’s rooted in each client’s own wisdom and power. I believe that our relationships with ourselves and with others are where the greatest growth happens and my role is to help you cultivate your strengths in an affirming space.
To me, human connection, being witnessed, story telling, and corrective experiences and relationships are fundamental to growth. My aim is to create a space that’s filled with presence, care, understanding, humor, and joy as we move through our work together. I integrate many different therapeutic interventions and tools based on the context of what we’re exploring together and individual needs in the moment. These can include: narrative work, somatic work, CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), family-systems and generational healing, psychodynamic work (processing how past experiences impact us in the present), mindfulness/grounding, visualizations, DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) and ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy).
My own journey with therapy has been rich and rewarding. I’ve personally benefited from psychodynamic talk therapy, mindfulness based therapy, and psychedelic assisted therapy. This experience deeply influences the work I do with my clients.
I have a theoretical foundation based in psychodynamic theory and work with my clients from an anti-oppressive, relational stance. I believe that therapeutic work is most meaningful when curiosity, compassion, and understanding are at its core. I’m fascinated with how change, transition and our relationships affect our wellbeing and aim to provide a supportive and co-creative space to help navigate these experiences. I recognize the role that environment can have on mental health and strive to honor each person’s unique constellation of culture and identity. I’m especially passionate about helping queer people and people of color discover their inner strengths and learn new skills to foster connection, hope, and resilience in their lives.
Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA
MSW, Masters of Social work, Clinical Track (2023)
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
B.A. in English and Spanish (2012)
I came to Social Work and Psychotherapy in a somewhat non-linear way. I received my Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Spanish, and then spent time working in Health Technology with a focus on making health and mental health resources more accessible to those suffering from chronic conditions.
Throughout graduate school I sat on the executive board for Council for Students of Color at Smith, advocating for changes that show a greater commitment to equity in academia. I also served on the admissions team, as navigating academic systems can be challenging and as a first generation college graduate, I wanted to be able to help reduce barriers to educational access. Over the last decade I’ve worked with refugees, prospective first-generation college students, youth, people experiencing trauma and PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and in academic and educational settings.
Areas of Expertise
- Life transitions and adjustment/transitional stages
- Coping skills and increasing access to resiliency and choice
- Values Work + Finding Direction and Meaning in Life
- Improving Communication, Conflict Skills, and Intimacy in Relationships
- Anxiety, depression, and mood disorders
- Complex trauma and PTSD
- Intergenerational/ancestral trauma
- Immigrants and children of immigrants
- Family system and relationship concerns
- Improving Communication and Conflict Skills
- Gender and sexual identity
- Cultural adjustment
- Intersectionality of identities
- Bicultural Identity & Issues
- Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) mental health
I adhere to the ethical code as established by the American Psychological Association, and the professional standards as described in the Washington State Psychology Licensing Laws (RCW 18.83, 18.130, and WAC 308-122). If you have any concerns about the treatment you receive, please feel free to discuss them with me. If I fail to respond to your satisfaction, you have the right to register a complaint with the Department of Health, Washington State Examining Board of Psychology, PO Box 47868, Olympia, WA 98504, (253) 753-2147. You may also register a complaint to the Ethics Committee of the Washington State Psychological Association at (206) 363-9772.