Rachel Harlich

Rachel Harlich I’m a therapist who works with neurodivergent people, trauma survivors, LGBTQ+ folks, sex workers, polyamorous/non-monogamous people, and BDSM-involved folks.

I also offer my expertise as a speaker and consultant.

hey friends 💜I’m excited to invite you to another cohort of a 12-week therapy group designed for folks who are living wi...
09/11/2026

hey friends 💜

I’m excited to invite you to another cohort of a 12-week therapy group designed for folks who are living with the tough intersection of complex trauma and chronic pain. Together, we’ll explore and share things like understanding what’s happening in our bodies and minds, learning ways to advocate for ourselves with healthcare, and trying out some hands-on exercises in somatics and parts work. The goal is to build a toolkit of helpful skills to manage trauma and pain more effectively, all while connecting with others who really understand what you’re going through. The group is scheduled to start this October every other Thursday 1-2:30pm. It will happen over Zoom, and open to those in NY state.

We know from research that survivors of childhood trauma often experience more persistent pain, and many of us feel that these two things are deeply linked. It’s like emotional distress and physical pain feed into each other—our brains react with heightened limbic activity (that’s the “danger! danger!” part), while the prefrontal areas that help us see things clearly become less active. That can send us into a cycle of feeling overwhelmed, where pain and emotion keep fueling each other in a way that feels endless and hard to break.

This group’s aim is to help you pause that cycle, find gentle ways to tend to your inner experience and develop compassion for all parts of yourself that play a role in your pain and distress. We’ll also work on understanding and reducing somatic dissociation (which, surprisingly, can make pain worse!), and foster a kinder, more loving relationship with your body.

I’ll be bringing my background in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Neurodivergent Somatics, Trauma-Informed Stabilization, and Internal Family Systems, along with expertise in trauma, pain science, and the challenges of navigating the medical industrial complex — as well as my personal experience as a disabled survivor. I look forward to sharing this supportive space with you!

If this sounds like a good fit for you or someone you know please fill out or send this interest form: bit.ly/futurecptsdgroups (link in bio as well)

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I want to tell you about autistic burnout and why I’m pleased to offer this 12 week therapy group for Autistic & AuDHD B...
08/20/2026

I want to tell you about autistic burnout and why I’m pleased to offer this 12 week therapy group for Autistic & AuDHD Burnout Recovery.

I want to tell you about my own autistic burnout that started a couple of years back when I was confronted by a sensory meltdown (in all it’s distinct, this-is-not-your-garden-variety-panic-attack, features) that made being autistic impossible to ignore any longer. I want to tell you that I write this from a place of not a full, perfect recovery, but in a much different, more recovered place than I could have imagined when the world became a painful, even excruciating, place. Full of sensory, social, and physical health triggers that were dialed way higher than I could remember in my lifetime. And a whole new identity and lens to look at myself and all of my life’s experiences through. Late realized AuDHD (and realization through getting smacked hard in the face by burnout) is a hell of a journey.

It wasn’t one thing that made the difference in my recovery. I needed information (A LOT OF IT), support (not all of it aligned, unfortunately), more time in some relationships, less time in or the ending of others (especially those that maintained ableist and willfully ignorant views about autism, or who treated me like I couldn’t be trusted about my own experiences - even with a whole ass LCSW), adjustments to daily life, accommodations that I gave to myself and asked for from others, self-advocacy with institutions - especially the medical industrial complex. I needed more self-soothing, more stimming, more leaning into the things about myself that I had written off as embarrassing quirks (intense interests, listening to songs on repeat, comfort shows, a deep love of nature and animals etc.), safe movement, permission to bed rot, and loads and loads of self-compassion. I needed to listen moment by moment to my inner knowing about what I needed, and when I couldn’t get a signal, to try small experiments and listen for more information from myself. I needed people who GOT IT. I needed all of those things and more. I still need most of these things.

That’s why I want to tell you about this group. Nobody should have to do this wor

Consultations and Intakes are happening now! If you, your clients, or someone you know could benefit from this group, no...
12/11/2025

Consultations and Intakes are happening now! If you, your clients, or someone you know could benefit from this group, now's the time to fill out the interest form! - bit.ly/futurecptsdgroups

11/28/2025

I’m the last two ngl

hey friends 💜I’m excited to invite you to a 10-week therapy group designed for folks who are living with the tough inter...
11/06/2025

hey friends 💜

I’m excited to invite you to a 10-week therapy group designed for folks who are living with the tough intersection of complex trauma and chronic pain. Together, we’ll explore and share things like understanding what’s happening in our bodies and minds, learning ways to advocate for ourselves with healthcare, and trying out some hands-on exercises in somatics and parts work. The goal is to build a toolkit of helpful skills to manage trauma and pain more effectively, all while connecting with others who really understand what you’re going through. The group is scheduled to start in January, will happen over Zoom, and open to those in NY state. Consultations are happening now until the end of November.

We know from research that survivors of childhood trauma often experience more persistent pain, and many of us feel that these two things are deeply linked. It’s like emotional distress and physical pain feed into each other—our brains react with heightened limbic activity (that’s the “danger! danger!” part), while the prefrontal areas that help us see things clearly become less active. That can send us into a cycle of feeling overwhelmed, where pain and emotion keep fueling each other in a way that feels endless and hard to break.

This group’s aim is to help you pause that cycle, find gentle ways to tend to your inner experience and develop compassion for all parts of yourself that play a role in your pain and distress. We’ll also work on understanding and reducing somatic dissociation (which, surprisingly, can make pain worse!), and foster a kinder, more loving relationship with your body.

I’ll be bringing my background in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Neurodivergent Somatics, Trauma-Informed Stabilization, and Internal Family Systems, along with expertise in trauma, pain science, and the challenges of navigating the medical industrial complex — as well as my personal experience as a disabled survivor. I look forward to sharing this supportive space with you!

If this sounds like a good fit for you or someone you know please fill out or send this interest form: bit.ly/futurecptsdgroups (link in bio as well)

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Happy ⛓️Daddies Day⛓️ and 🌈Pride month 🌈I thought I’d use this day as a chance to share my newly updated blog post (link...
06/15/2025

Happy ⛓️Daddies Day⛓️ and 🌈Pride month 🌈

I thought I’d use this day as a chance to share my newly updated blog post (link in bio) on why kink belongs at Pride.

Part op-ed, part plea for our q***r and trans youth, part celebration of our “weird”. For as long as q***r and trans people have existed, we have created innovative ways of transmuting pain & building consent-based play & shared community. These ways of being are part of our survival and our brilliance.

If you’re a fellow complex trauma survivor and this is historically a hard day for you, let this be a sign from a kink-affirming therapist, that there is no invalid way of transmuting your pain, no bad choice about re-negotiating your relationship with this day.

Tell me in the comments and the poll - do you want to see more content about kink from me? Specifically about?



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📣 NEW BLOG POST: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: Do I have it and what do I do about it? 🫂Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria i...
06/09/2025

📣 NEW BLOG POST: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: Do I have it and what do I do about it? 🫂

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is more than just being a little insecure and it’s more than “anxious attachment”. For neurodivergent folks, this phenomenon is an important part of our experience and ND folks and those who love us, need to understand it.

Today's blog will cover the question of 1) what is "rejection sensitive dysphoria", 2) how it's different than rejection sensitivity, 3) what the experience is like, 4) the impact it can have, 5) what strategies, tools, and frameworks help, 6) the role of support from loved ones, and 7) getting professional support.

You are not alone. Regardless of what RSD tells you, you are not a bad person or undeserving of love. There are things that can help!

Share with anyone who might need this information today. 💖

# RejectionSensitiveDysphoria

https://www.rachelharlich.com/post/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-do-i-have-it-and-what-do-i-do-about-it

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04/23/2025

Your feelings make sense to me.

04/23/2025

I’m embracing a radical acceptance of my wet hair and “um’s” to say: If you’re autistic and struggling in this particular social and political moment: you’re not alone.

Many of us struggle with one person perceiving us. A national and international conversation about us? Whew buddy. It’s A LOT.

Here are some options for resourcing yourself.

And we need community, allies, and accomplices more than ever. These ideas are no substitute for collective liberation, but I hope they offer some relief.

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