You hold it together for everyone.
Who holds you?
Direct, somatic trauma therapy in Oakland, CA, and online across California and Minnesota.
If you're here, some of this probably sounds familiar
You're the capable one — the person everyone leans on. From the outside, you look like you've got it handled, and most days you do. But underneath:
You can't turn your brain off, even when you're completely wiped out.
You say "yes" when you mean "no," then quietly resent it later.
You're carrying everyone else's feelings, and there's no one carrying yours.
You don't notice how depleted you are until your body finally makes you stop.
You keep telling yourself to just toughen up — like everyone else seems to manage fine.
None of this means you’re too sensitive or not cut out for your life. Holding it together kept you safe once, maybe for a long time. It just wasn’t meant to be how you live forever. And a lot of what’s wearing you down isn’t a personal failing. It’s how much you’ve been carrying, for how long, mostly on your own.
Feeling steady in your own body — not braced for the next thing.
Setting boundaries that actually stick, without the guilt spiral afterward.
Trusting your gut instead of overthinking every decision to death.
Knowing how to come back to yourself when you get overwhelmed.
Having room again for the people and the parts of life you've been too drained to enjoy.
This isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about not having to hold everything by yourself.
Imagine moving through your days like this
Meet Rachel
I’m Rachel Wilson, LCSW, C-IAYT, a somatic trauma therapist in Oakland. For nearly 20 years, I’ve worked with people who learned to survive by holding it all together, starting in juvenile halls, foster care, schools, and community organizations. The youth I worked with always called me real. I still take that as the best compliment I’ve gotten.
My work is direct and body-based. We build a felt sense of safety in your body first, then get underneath the patterns you learned in order to survive, as they show up in your life and between us in the room. I’ll be honest with you, not just reassuring, and I’ll stay while we figure it out.
I also won’t pretend you live in a vacuum. Family, racism, class, sexism, and workplaces that take more than they give all shape what you carry. We name that honestly, so healing doesn’t become one more thing you have to fix alone.
And it isn’t all heavy. There’s room for joy and laughing here too.
Learn more about my work→ About Me
How to Get Started
1) Book a free consultation
A 15-minute call to see if we’re a good fit. Ask me anything.
2) Fill out a little paperwork
Quick online forms, so our first session is all about you.
3) Begin our work together
We start where you are and build from there, at your pace.
Therapy Services
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Individual Therapy
Space to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and feel more like you again.
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Online Therapy
Support from wherever you are, available across California and Minnesota.
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Yoga Therapy
Body-based tools to settle your mind and feel grounded in everyday life.
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Therapy for Trauma
Build real safety in your body, so the past stops running your present.
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Therapy for HSPs
Learn to work with your sensitivity instead of being run by it.
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Somatic Therapy
Bring your body's wisdom into your healing, not just your thoughts.