Rachel Adams
Rachel works with:
Couples in disconnection or crisis
Overwhelmed, burned-out adults
People exploring sexuality, desire, and identity
Intern Therapist
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." — Rumi
We struggle when we are disconnected - from ourselves, from the people we love, from life itself. Therapy is a valuable space, an oasis outside the frenzied responsibilities and distractions of everyday life, where you can slow down, sit with the most painful and challenging parts of your experience, and move toward greater aliveness, connection, and freedom. Whatever brings you here, you deserve that space - and I'm honored to be part of that journey.
For couples: Relationships are hard, and sometimes they become quietly unbearable. Maybe you and your partner are stuck in the same exhausting cycle of conflict, saying the same things and landing in the same painful place. Maybe you feel profoundly isolated and unsupported by the person who is supposed to know you best. Maybe you're reeling after the discovery of an affair, unsure whether trust can ever be rebuilt. Or perhaps you've lost your erotic connection somewhere in the blur of parenting and work, grieving the intimacy you once had. Trying to talk about it only seems to make things worse.
For individuals: You're overwhelmed by the demands of parenting, locking yourself in the bathroom just to catch your breath. You're exhausted at work - constantly giving, constantly performing - and wondering if this is really it. You're agonizing over whether to stay or leave a relationship, and the uncertainty is eating you alive. Or maybe you're drowning in grief, unmoored by waves of sadness and unsure if the weight on your chest will ever lift.
For those navigating sexuality and intimacy: Questions of desire, identity, and what it means to feel at home in your body and your erotic self are worthy of thoughtful, judgment-free exploration. My work is sex-positive and inclusive of all identities and orientations.
Therapy with me is deeply relational. I show up as a real person: curious, warm, and willing to go to the hard places with you. The approach draws on Emotionally Focused Therapy (to understand the emotional patterns and attachment needs underneath conflict and disconnection), mindfulness-based practices (to slow down, get out of your head, and into your actual experience), and narrative therapy (to examine the stories you've been telling about yourself and decide which ones are still worth keeping). The focus is never only on what feels broken - your innate resilience and what's already working matter too.
My path here was circuitous and deeply human. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, moved to Whidbey Island as a teenager, studied humanities at Seattle University, and completed an MA in anthropology at the University of London. After years in ecommerce technology, an intense season of life - the death of my father, the birth of my children, a difficult diagnosis, divorce, and burnout - led me to fundamentally reassess. A deep curiosity about healing, connection, and what it means to be human brought me here. I am currently completing my graduate training in clinical mental health counseling at Seattle University and studying to become a certified sex therapist. Outside the office, I make pizza for family and friends, dance flamenco, and force-march my children on long hikes in the Cascades.
Pronouns: she/her
INDIVIDUAL, COUPLES & FAMILY THERAPY
$90 / 50-minute session
rachela@selfspaceseattle.com | (206) 414-8918