Art Therapy in Apple Valley, MN

Navigating life’s challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming and intimidating. As your therapist, I’ll hold space for you to express your fears and vulnerabilities in a supportive space. Together, we can actively explore challenges you’re experiencing, and generate solutions based on your needs and strengths. I create a nurturing environment for clients through genuine compassion, patience, and open-mindedness. My style is kind and warm, infused with creativity, mindfulness, and a sense of humor. As a therapist and previous educator, I have extensive experience supporting individuals of varying abilities and identities.

I specialize in working with school-aged children, teens, adults, and parents struggling with depression, anxiety, grief, relationships, life transitions, parenting and relationship challenges, and trauma. My priority is for each person to feel deeply heard, understood, and supported in making positive changes toward a joy-filled life. I view people through a holistic lens and address all areas of life including body, mind, community, and spiritual orientation.

I have been in the counseling and psychology field for the past 20 years. I know that it is difficult to ask for help. However, people sometimes need additional support beyond their family and friends. I work with, adults and adolescents that experience low self-esteem, relationship problems, depression, anxiety, grief/loss, addiction, trauma, and have trouble regulating their emotions. If you are a parent looking for services for your child, I am a registered play therapist and I will work with your child to resolve fears, worries, sadness, and build healthy esteem and assist you in providing on-going support to your child.

CASE LOAD CURRENTLY FULL Most clients come to me by word-of-mouth referrals, but I periodically take on new clients if they are a good fit. My client base is roughly 70% female-identifying and 30% male-identifying, and I respect each client's journey in an allied way. While I have a broad range of experience working with people across the lifespan, what I most enjoy is working with high-achieving adults in the first half of life. I view therapy as an opportunity to grow and evolve, while also mastering the ability to be fully present, whether you are looking for your calling, embodying your identity, or preparing for your next step.

Everyone deserves a safe place to bring their authentic self and be met with compassion rather than criticism, empathy instead of judgment, and support in place of loneliness. It has been my privilege to create this safety for children, teens, and adults for many years and I continue to hold great honor in my role as therapist. I am gifted in being comfortable sitting with people in their pain, wrestling together with life's most challenging questions, speaking truth with gentle kindness, celebrating progress and being a soft landing for setbacks, seeing people's strengths, and making people feel seen, heard, and understood.

Hi! My name is Rachel and I'm the owner of Nesting Connections, LLC. My ideal client would be children between the ages of birth to 18, caregivers, or teachers seeking reflective consultation. Reasons caregivers have requested my services include: anxiety, depression, hoarding, excessive lying, attachment concerns, selective mutism, defiance, suicidal ideation, self-harming, bullying, social skills, foster care/adoption, truancy, grief, family discord, developmental concerns, and most frequently-trauma. I also enjoy providing prenatal therapy to process bonding with baby.