MEET RACHEL GUNN, LPC-MHSP
Therapist for Anxious, People-Pleasing Women
I help anxious, people-pleasing women & college students to stop shrinking and start taking up space in their own lives. If you’re struggling with people-pleasing, boundaries, life transitions, anxiety/OCD, or the stress of parenthood, and you want a therapist who’s warm, real, & funny — we’re probably a great fit.
Your needs matter. It’s time to invest in yourself.
A little about me
I remember what it was like to speak up for myself and feel dismissed. I remember what it was like to not have a voice: to be sitting in my own therapy sessions and feeling completely unable to speak, the fear clenching the throat and jaw shut as if that were the only way to stay protected. I learned from a young age that being open and vulnerable with some people of authority was dangerous. I developed pretty effective ways of adapting: I was a master at freezing and people-pleasing. Over time, these adaptations caught up with me and were no longer serving me in the way they used to. The feelings I shoved down - the stress, anger, sadness, and injustice of it all - became too much to bear… until I finally found a therapist who truly met me where I was. I didn’t feel like “the difficult client” or the client they didn’t know what to do with. I felt cared for, seen, and truly heard. This allowed me to start opening up and actually sharing my story. It changed everything. This is why I do what I do.
If you are looking for an authentic, relatable, sometimes funny, warm and nonjudgmental human and trained therapist — I’m your girl.
I don’t believe in showing up as a “blank slate.” Real growth occurs when we feel connected to one another, when we feel felt, heard, seen, supported, and held. I believe this can only occur with authenticity. My goal is to help you feel like you can finally exhale, and provide you with the space to uncover and reflect on your patterns with curiosity. In our work together, we will work on cultivating more self-compassion and less self-criticism. My hope is that you ultimately reconnect with yourself: your wonderfully messy, authentic, fully feeling self.
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.”
-Brene Brown
License & Education
Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider, #4714
Graduate level Clinical Mental Health Counseling coursework — Tennessee State University, 2018
MA — Clinical Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, 2016
BA — Psychology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2014
Certifications & Trainings
Perinatal Mental Health trained from Postpartum Support International — certification in progress
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) trained from The Center for Anxiety & Behavior Therapy
Somatic & Attachment Focused Eye-Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (SAFE EMDR) trained from Personal Transformation Institute
Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed clinician — online course from IFS Institute
Professional Affiliations
Postpartum Support International (PSI) member
International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) member
Early Career
Certified Psychological Assistant — 2016 to 2024, conducting psychological evaluations under the supervision of a psychologist.
Adjunct Psychology Professor — Middle Tennessee State University, 2020-2023
Outside of the Therapy Room
A mother of young children and two kittens
A below-average gardener
Nature-lover (except all the bugs)
Novice horse girl
Budding creative: in the form of coloring, painting, and baking
Off-key singer of Broadway showtunes
MY APPROACH TO THERAPY IS…
person-centered, relational, and authentic.
I value genuine human connection and believe that relationships hold the key to healing and fulfillment in life. I believe therapy should be a place where you feel both supported and challenged to grow. My goal is to help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself while building the tools and confidence to move forward.
I show up with compassion, nonjudgment, warmth, and encouragement. I blend multiple therapy modalities, including psychodynamic, person-centered, relational, IFS, and CBT for many of the issues my clients face. For those with OCD, I utilize Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD. I am also trained in Somatic & Attachment-Focused EMDR (SAFE EMDR), used for those who are experiencing distress related to past trauma.
I’m a real person in the room with you, not a blank slate.
You will get my genuine self, which may include laughter, the occasional “wait, say that again!?”, and real warmth. Sometimes therapy might not feel like therapy, and sometimes it might feel hard and heavy. Either way, you will not be alone. I’ll be right there with you.
WHAT THERAPY WITH ME IS ACTUALLY LIKE…
We are going down to the roots, not just managing symptoms.
I’ve been known for saying something like this: “It took X amount of years to get you to this place, it’ll take some time to get you to a new place.” Meaning, change doesn’t happen overnight and these symptoms, or ways of adapting, came from somewhere. Together, we will get curious about yourself, your history, your patterns, and help you reconnect with your authentic self.
Humor is allowed.
Don’t get me wrong: challenging yourself to be vulnerable, confronting your demons, and actively putting in the work to change is hard. But I don’t want therapy to just be another difficult place for you. I believe that humor, when appropriate, can add levity to a situation, remind us of some of the simple joys in life, and that we are more than our pain.
You don’t have to be “fine” or “okay” here.
If you’re a mess, be a mess. If you’re pissed off because you hit every red light on the way to your appointment so you arrived 5-minutes late, you are allowed to express that. My job isn’t to keep you comfortable — it’s to help you feel safe enough to let your guard down and experience what it’s like to truly feel.
A GENTLE REMINDER:
Self-care is not selfish. It’s self-love.
You deserve to make yourself a priority.
Let me help you learn how. Reach out, and we’ll chat.