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Rachel Madu, MA, RCC.

Hello. I recognize that choosing a therapist is a very vulnerable and personal process. The importance of personal connection is vitally important to having a good therapeutic relationship. Here are a few things you may find helpful to know about me.

Identity: I am a cis-gendered woman of British and Slovakian decent and go by she/her pronouns. I have a bi-racial family, have been married for 25 years, and am a mother through birth and adoption to three children. I have a strong Christian faith and am a leader in my spiritual community. I love being outdoors and enjoy biking, hiking and camping.

Work Background: As a family therapist I have worked for over 20 years with individuals of all ages, couples and families (adoptive, foster and birth), experiencing relationship challenges. My education, research and experience are strong in the areas of attachment and trauma. I have worked with many families impacted by mental health, relationship ruptures, and varying types of trauma (including event specific, developmental, and intergenerational trauma, and perpetual stress).

I am a person-centered therapist, valuing and trusting the potential of each client that I get to meet, facilitating the counselling process with unconditional positive regard, authenticity and empathy. I work from an Emotion-Focused framework, this means that while striving to be trauma-sensitive in my work and aiming to avoid re-traumatization, I partner with clients in finding greater understanding of their emotions, and work with clients to adapt unhealthy emotions and increase healthy coping.

Services offered: One-one clinical counselling with children (aged 4 and up), youth and adults Couples Therapy (I often offset couple sessions with individual sessions in the beginning) Family sessions (I usually begin with 1-1 or couples and grow into family sessions)

Life Experience: I grew up living all over Western Canada - in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alberta. As an adult I have spent long periods of time in Madagascar and Zambia, but feel grateful to call the Lower Mainland home. I am a student in understanding my own privilege, and learning about my own experience and relationship with power and look for opportunities to facilitate dialogue about racism, privilege, fragility, inclusion, equality, and equity.

Values: I am a Christ follower, and believe in the unequivocal power of love and grace. I hold relationships to be the most valuable thing I have. I believe that we are all on our own journey, and it is not my right or position to judge anyone else, or the journey that they are on. I recognize that we all have our own history and experiences that bring us to our present situations, understandings and realities. I have come to understand some of the complexities of development, attachment, and the impact of trauma, and I welcome opportunities to share this knowledge, when mutually deemed to be helpful, with others. It is an honour for me to journey with others, seeking understanding, answers, healing and growth.

Education: I completed my Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Simon Fraser University in 2012, and my thesis and research focused on relationships of adults who grew up in foster care in British Columbia. In my work I have learned the most from the relationships I have been granted with individuals and families through Ray-Cam Community Centre, Society of Special Needs Adoptive Parents, Westcoast Family Resources Society, The Children’s Foundation, BC’s SOS Children’s Village, and the Surrey School Board.

Learning will be a lifelong journey for me. I studied with the Child Trauma Academy, from 2012-2017, and was certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics in 2017. I have continued to take workshops and courses routinely each year highlighting the topics of Reconciliation, the History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Trauma, Stress, Attachment, and specific disorders. I am certified to facilitate a number of parenting groups, including Connect and Triple P. I have completed supervision coursework, equipping me to provide supervision to other therapists.

Contact me and we can see if we are a good fit to journey together. It would be an absolute honour for me to work with you, helping you to reach your goals.

In Service, Rachel

Quotes about Rachel

“Rachel Madu is one of the most trustworthy individuals, with a warm gentle heart. She will listen to every word that is said with zero judgment. There are so many words to describe Rachel, she has done so much for my family and I. Including helped me through my PTSD, Rachel devoted her time and energy helping achieve ways and strategies to overcome those challenging days.” Brad

“Rachel is an experienced and gifted therapist, who brings many talents to the therapy realm. She is compassionate, insightful, empathetic, creative, collaborative, and engaging. Rachel’s passion for serving people shines through, and her commitment and dedication to her clients is inspiring.” - colleague

“My family and I met Rachel back in 2017 for family counseling. Having 2 ADHD children, my husband and I felt stressed, overwhelmed, and lost. We all felt comfortable with Rachel, as she has a calm demeanor, listened, and helped us understand our children’s needs and how their brains work. With my family being willing and open to except help we have come a long way.” Elaine

“As a colleague who has co-facilitated many groups with Rachel it was an immediate connection which made facilitating such a joy. She shared and received information and was an interactive person. She is knowledgeable, listens and communicates in such an authentic way not only with me, but also the clients we were working with. She engages people in such a validating and gentle way.” Gina Scarpino, MSW, RSW

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