Rachel Finch

Associate Professional Clinical Counselor 
APCC #17278
(Supervised by Donald Hua LPCC #10292)

Many of the patterns we struggle with began as ways of coping or protecting ourselves through difficult experiences. Your story matters, and understanding how your experiences shaped you can be part of healing. Therapy can be a space to explore these patterns with curiosity and compassion while building self-trust and connection. I work primarily with teens, adults, and families navigating trauma, ADHD, autism, and relational stress through neurodivergent-affirming care. My work focuses on attachment and complex trauma, family conflict and transitions, and supporting survivors of sexual assault.

I provide trauma-informed individual and family therapy, as well as Parent Management Training for families navigating ADHD and autism. My approach is strengths-based and grounded in Internal Family Systems, integrating EMDR, CBT/DBT-informed tools, mindfulness, and body-based practices to support emotional regulation, confidence, and healthier relationships.

My path into this work began at Virginia Tech, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in Human Development with minors in Psychology and Disabilities Studies. During my undergraduate years, much of my work and research centered on opioid use and treatment in Southwest Virginia, where I developed a deeper interest in how access to care, community resources, and broader systems shape the well-being of individuals and families. I later earned my master’s degree in Counseling with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of San Diego. My graduate research focused on supporting Mexican American children and families navigating parental incarceration, with particular attention to group therapy models that foster connection, resilience, and prosocial development among youth. These experiences strengthened my commitment to working alongside children and families whose needs and experiences have too often been overlooked or underserved.

My clinical background includes working with children, teens, adults, and families across a wide range of needs and levels of care, including neurodivergence, complex trauma, suicidality and self-harm, substance use, significant behavioral challenges, and gang involvement. These experiences have shaped my particular interest in the intersections of trauma, neurodivergence, identity, family relationships, and systemic stressors. Across my work, I aim to look beyond symptoms or behaviors alone and understand the experiences, relationships, environments, and protective adaptations underneath them. I believe meaningful therapy honors those adaptations while helping clients develop greater safety, self-understanding, connection, and choice.

My hope is to offer a warm, compassionate space where you feel understood and empowered. Therapy is a shared process of building strengths, developing coping tools, deepening insight and self-acceptance, and supporting healthier relationships for lasting change. If this feels like a good fit for you or your family, please feel free to reach out!