Rachel Ness (she/her)
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Accepting New Clients
Insurance Coverage and direct billing Available
Areas of Focus
Eating disorders • Disordered eating • Body image concerns • Anxiety • Burnout • Perfectionism • Stress • Low self-esteem • Gender-affirming care
What It’s Like to Work With Rachel
Rachel Ness (she/her) is a somatic counsellor who helps people reconnect with their bodies, build self-trust, and create healthier relationships with themselves. Her work is especially supportive for individuals navigating eating disorders, disordered eating, body image concerns, anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, and chronic self-criticism.
Rachel’s approach is rooted in somatic psychotherapy, which recognizes the deep connection between the mind, body, and nervous system. Rather than focusing on thoughts alone, she helps clients explore how emotions, experiences, and patterns are carried within the body and how healing can happen through greater awareness, connection, and self-compassion.
Her sessions are warm, collaborative, and creative. Depending on each person’s needs, Rachel may integrate Somatic Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Expressive Arts Therapy, Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, and culturally responsive approaches. Sessions may include traditional conversation, movement, drawing, music, sound, or other experiential practices that support emotional processing and growth.
Rachel also provides hormone and surgical readiness assessments for individuals pursuing gender-affirming care. She approaches this work with respect, compassion, and an understanding of the barriers many trans and gender-diverse people encounter while navigating healthcare systems.
Education & Training
Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Somatic Psychotherapy, Naropa University (2022)
Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies, The Evergreen State College (2016)
Training in Somatic Psychotherapy
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Expressive Arts Therapy
Brief Solution-Focused Therapy
Hormone and Surgical Readiness Assessments
Particularly Enjoys Working With
People recovering from eating disorders and disordered eating
Individuals healing their relationship with food and their bodies
People experiencing perfectionism, burnout, and chronic self-pressure
Trans and gender-diverse individuals
Those seeking gender-affirming care assessments
Individuals looking for creative, body-centered approaches to therapy
People who feel disconnected from themselves and want to reconnect with their bodies
Outside the Therapy Room
Rachel brings warmth, playfulness, and curiosity into her work. She is passionate about helping people build more compassionate relationships with themselves and believes healing happens when people feel safe enough to explore, grow, and reconnect with who they are beneath the pressure, expectations, and stories they’ve carried for years.
If You’d like to read about Rachel on her own website, you can click here
