“Even at the hardest moments in life, everything you need for happiness is already inside you. My goal as a therapist is to work together with you in whatever struggles you currently face, to uncover your naturally occurring strengths in order to live a full and meaningful life.”
Welcome!
Rachel works with individuals who may feel unhappy, lost, or disconnected from the life they want to be living, even when the reasons are not immediately clear. Many clients come to therapy feeling emotionally numb, stuck, or disconnected from themselves despite previous efforts to understand or talk through their experiences. Rachel offers a supportive space to explore these feelings with curiosity and care, helping clients reconnect with a more vibrant and embodied sense of self.
Rachel understands that unresolved trauma and emotional pain can live not only in thoughts and memories, but also within the body. Drawing on a somatic and relational approach to psychotherapy, she supports clients in exploring how past experiences may continue to shape present emotional patterns, relationships, and wellbeing. Rather than focusing solely on cognitive understanding, Rachel works holistically — attending to both mind and body — so that deeper aspects of healing can emerge.
Through therapy, Rachel helps clients develop greater self-awareness, emotional integration, and a renewed capacity to feel connected, grounded, and fully engaged in their lives.
Rachel’s Clinical Background
Service Locations
In-Person, Pleasantville New York (Westchester)
Online in New York and New Jersey
Insurance Accepted
Aetna (including PPO, HMO, Meritain Health, 1199 SEIU National Benefits Fund and Aetna Student plans)
Wellfleet Student (NYU, School of Visual Arts, Sarah Lawrence College, etc.)
Northwell Direct
Out-Of-Network Benefits Reimbursement
Therapeutic Modalities
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT)
Psychodynamic
Trauma-Focused
GOTTMAN METHOD FOR COUPLES THERAPY
Clinical Expertise
Trauma
Sexual Trauma
Perinatal and Maternal mental health
Life transitions
Dissociation
Client Focus
LGBTQIA+
Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Survivors
People undergoing life changes
Education
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities Women's Studies
Master of Social Work, New York University
Certifications and Training
Basic EMDR Certification
Trauma-Focused CBT
Internal Family Systems Training
Integrating Internal Family Systems Across Clinical Applications
Seleni Institute Maternal Mental Health Intensive: Perinatal Loss and Grief,
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Gottman Method Couples Therapy Clinical Training
Languages
English
French
Licenses
New York Licensed Master of Social Work
New Jersey (Telehealth) Licensed Master of Social Work
How Rachel Can Support You
Rachel specialises in supporting individuals working through trauma, including childhood trauma and sexual abuse, using a holistic and evidence-informed therapeutic approach. She integrates EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, helping clients process painful experiences in ways that engage both the mind and body.
EMDR therapy supports the reprocessing of distressing memories that may continue to affect emotional wellbeing, relationships, or daily functioning. Alongside this, Rachel uses Internal Family Systems to help clients understand and heal the different parts of themselves that have developed in response to trauma or overwhelming life experiences.
Rachel’s work focuses on creating safety, restoring internal balance, and supporting lasting trauma recovery. Her aim is to help clients move beyond survival patterns, heal past wounds, and reconnect with the present with a greater sense of wholeness, self-compassion, and empowerment.
Influences: Alice Miller, Karen Horney, Bessel van der Kolk, Mark Epstein, Pema Chödrön, Judith Herman
Rachel’s Approach
Rachel offers a compassionate and integrative therapeutic approach for individuals navigating parenthood, perinatal experiences, and significant life transitions. She understands that entering parenthood can be both deeply meaningful and emotionally overwhelming, often bringing a wide range of feelings — from joy and connection to anxiety, uncertainty, or self-doubt.
As a mother herself, Rachel brings both professional expertise and lived understanding to her work in perinatal and postpartum mental health. She supports clients experiencing pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders, including anxiety and depression, as well as those facing fertility challenges, difficult pregnancies, or pregnancy loss. Rachel provides a safe, non-judgmental space where clients can process these experiences and develop resilience during this important stage of life.
Rachel also works with clients navigating broader life transitions such as early adulthood, relationship changes, relocation, or midlife shifts. She views transitional periods as opportunities for growth and self-discovery, even when accompanied by fear or uncertainty. Through therapy, Rachel helps clients make sense of change, strengthen emotional resources, and move toward greater confidence, creativity, and psychological wellbeing
Rituals: creative writing, dancing, nightly meditation to spa playlist
Why Work With Rachel?
Rachel is committed to creating a therapeutic relationship grounded in trust, safety, and collaboration. She offers a warm and attuned space where clients feel supported in exploring their inner world, deepening self-understanding, and working toward meaningful and lasting change.
Her relational and compassionate approach encourages curiosity toward thoughts, emotions, and internal patterns, helping clients recognise their strengths while gently addressing areas of difficulty or distress. Rachel works alongside clients to navigate life’s challenges — including parenthood, relationship concerns, trauma, and major life transitions — supporting the development of greater emotional connection, resilience, and wellbeing.
Through therapy with Rachel, clients are supported in building a more fulfilling, balanced, and connected relationship with themselves and others.
Library: The Drama of the Gifted Child (Alice Miller); The Body Keeps the Score (Bessel van der Kolk); You Are the One You've Been Waiting For (Richard Schwartz); Trauma and Recovery (Judith Herman)
About Rachel Winckel
Rachel is a therapist who supports individuals and couples navigating the emotional complexities of perinatal experiences, parenthood, and relationship life. She works with clients facing transitions such as becoming parents, adjusting to changing identities, or strengthening connection within partnerships.
Her approach is informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS), offering a compassionate and non-pathologizing framework that helps clients understand the different parts of themselves with curiosity and care. Rachel aims to create a space where both individual and relational experiences can be explored safely and thoughtfully.
Having personally moved through significant life transitions, Rachel brings a grounded understanding of change, belonging, and adaptation to her work. She values therapy as a collaborative process that supports resilience, self-understanding, and more connected ways of relating to oneself and others.