
Rachel Friederichsen
Areas of practice
- Abuse - Emotional, Physical, Sexual
- Addictions - Including Substances
- Family Issues
- Grief and Loss - General
- Infidelity
- Intimacy Issues
- LGBTQ Issues
- Marriage and/or Relationship Issues
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Pre-Marital Counselling
- Sexual Assault
- Sexuality
- Trauma Counselling
Approaches used
- EMDR
- Emotion Focused Therapy
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)
- Feminist Psychotherapy
- Marriage & Couples Counselling
- Mindfulness approaches
- Motivational Interviewing
- Process Work
- Relational Psychotherapy
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Languages spoken
- Italian
Counselling practice website:
www.betterconnections.caPractice information:
There are many reasons why the bonds of our relationships may start to weaken. Perhaps you have been hit with major life changes that no one expected: grief and loss, acute or chronic illness, or overwhelming career and family obligations. Maybe your busy schedules mean that you lead very separate lives. Perhaps you feel a relentless stinging from past hurts that never truly healed. Maybe you are struggling to move forward after an affair. At the end of the day, we all do better when we have strong, connected, and warm relationships. Counselling can help. Let me be your guide toward a better connection.
My passion is helping people achieve better connections with their partners, even those mired in tremendous pain, loss, and anger. My approach is warm, engaged, and non-judgemental. I work to help people experience the love and intimacy they crave.
I am primarily influenced by attachment theory in my counselling work. This means that I believe close, connected relationships are a deep human need; we thrive when they are well, and we struggle when they are weak. When our connections with our precious loved ones are distressed, we experience incredible pain, fear, and sadness. Our responses in these moments are critical, as they can serve to build or erode our bonds. We come by these reactions honestly; we are influenced by our upbringing, our past relationship experiences, our values, and ultimately, our deep-seated need for connection. I believe that, especially in close relationships, we are trying our best even when we are not meeting our partners' expectations. I honour those good intentions and help partners reshape their interactions to promote the warmth and bonding they long for.
Loving relationships have much in common at their core but are manifested and expressed in many diverse and wonderful ways. I work affirmatively with people in monogamous and non-monogamous relationship arrangements. I am welcoming of all identities and bodies including trans, non-binary, BIPOC, queer identities, and people with disabilities. I work from a sex-positive, kink-inclusive stance.
I completed my M.A. in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia. I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). I trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) at the Vancouver Couple and Family Institute. Additionally, I completed the CAVE/SAR with Options for Sexual Health (Opt), and I completed the Queer Competency Training with Qmunity.
Feeling like your therapist is a good fit is critical for treatment success. Prospective clients are welcome to book a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to see if I am a good fit for your relationship needs. Please visit my website to book this consultation online.
I am available to meet clients on Mondays at my Kitsilano office, and on Saturdays at my downtown office.
I practice emotionally focused couples therapy (EFT).
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) was first developed by Dr. Les Greenberg and Dr. Sue Johnson in the 1980s at the University of British Columbia. Since this time, Dr. Sue Johnson has pursued extensive development and research on the EFT model of therapy. As a result, it has become one of the most highly recognized forms of couples therapy in the world.
EFT is a therapeutic approach broken down into three stages and nine steps. It is a short-term therapy; a typical span of treatment involves between 8 and 20 sessions. Follow-up studies indicate that 90% of couples who complete EFT improve their relationships, even couples who were deeply distressed at the time of starting therapy.
EFT is an empirically-validated intervention fitting the standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). Outcome research suggests it is a gold-standard therapeutic approach for many kinds of couples facing many different kinds of problems. EFT is a bottom-up approach, meaning it was developed from research on emotion, relationship distress, and relationship satisfaction.
Client fee individuals:
$140 for 50 minutes, $200 for 80 minutes.Client fee couples/families:
$140 for 50 minutes, $200 for 80 minutes.Availability:
MonMonday | TueTuesday | WedWednesday | ThuThursday | FriFriday | SatSaturday | SunSunday | |
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MorningAM | Available | ||||||
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EveningLate | Available |