Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples Seattle, WA. Seattle

Meet Dr. Rachel Orleck

Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist

You're not just looking for any therapist.

You're looking for the right one.

Choosing a therapist is one of the more vulnerable things you'll do. You're not just investing money — you're investing hope. And when your relationship or your sense of self is already strained, the last thing you need is to spend months in therapy with someone who can't really handle what you're bringing in.

You want to know that whoever is sitting across from you — or on the other side of the screen — has seen this before. That they won't flinch, won't take sides unfairly, and won't let you leave session feeling worse than when you came in. That they can hold the hard stuff with you, name what's actually happening, and maybe even make you laugh when the tension in the room could slice through drywall.

That's what I'm here for.

Rachel Orleck EFT Couples Therapy Seattle

Hey, I'm Rachel.

I'm a licensed psychologist and certified Emotionally Focused Therapist with over twelve years of experience working with couples and individuals navigating some of the hardest relational terrain there is. I've worked with couples in crisis, couples who've gone quiet, individuals carrying the weight of relationships that aren't working — and I've helped them find their way through.

I won't hide behind a clinical wall. I'm direct, I'm warm, and I believe therapy works best when it feels like a real conversation rather than a performance. We'll go deep — but we'll do it in a way that feels grounding, not overwhelming. Nothing is off limits here: disconnection, communication breakdowns, infertility, desire discrepancy, betrayal, the slow erosion of trust. I can handle it. So can you.

I also want you to know: I've been in the hard place myself. The place where the air feels thick with resentment, where it's easier to go quiet than to say one more thing that might blow it all up. Going through my own relational reckoning didn't just deepen my compassion — it sharpened my tools and gave me zero tolerance for cookie-cutter therapy. There is currently no cure for being human, and I've never pretended otherwise.

Here is what to expect when working with me:

Real talk. No jargon, no BS. Honest, direct, compassionate conversation.
A safe space to go deep — in a way that feels grounding, not destabilizing.
Humor. Because therapy doesn't have to feel like emotional bootcamp, and laughter is a healing tool.
Permission to bring all of it. The hard stuff doesn't get left at the door.
A commitment. This isn't a quick fix. It's transformational work — and it asks something real of you. The couples and individuals who get the most out of this process come in willing to be uncomfortable, willing to be honest, and willing to stay with it even when it's hard.

This work asks something real of you — honesty, discomfort, financial investment, and showing up even when you'd rather not. I bring twelve years of experience, ongoing training, and a sustained commitment to my own professional growth to make sure I'm bringing my best to every session. You won't be walking this road alone. Whatever comes up — we can handle it together.

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Why EFT - and why certification matters

Emotionally Focused Therapy is one of the most rigorously researched approaches to couples work in existence. It's grounded in attachment science — the same science that explains why we need connection the way we need air, and why losing it feels like a threat to our survival.

A lot of therapists are trained in EFT. Fewer are certified. Certification requires hundreds of hours of training and supervised clinical work, direct observation, and demonstrated competency — it's not a weekend workshop. I've also completed certification in Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy, which means I bring the same attachment lens to individual work that I bring to couples.

I continue to invest in my own development through regular consultation with experienced EFT therapists — because having someone look at your blindspots is not optional, it's just good practice. I attend continuing education in EFT and couples work regularly, because the field keeps growing and so should I.

Education

B.S. Psychology — University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007

M.S. Clinical Psychology — Nova Southeastern University, 2010

Psy.D. Clinical Psychology — Nova Southeastern University, 2013

License

Licensed Psychologist, Washington State —

Rachel C. Orleck Lozano, Psy.D. (PY60450189)

Certifications

Certified Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist — International Centre of Excellence in EFT, 2018

Certified Emotionally Focused Individual Therapist — International Centre of Excellence in EFT, 2024

Specialized Trainings

EFT Externship

EFT Core Skills

Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy Essentials

Broken Bonds: Healing Relationship Betrayals with EFT

Engaging Obstacles as Opportunities: Working Through Relational Blocks Using EFT

Sex As a Safe Adventure (Introduction & Advanced)

EFT & Desire Discrepancy

Professional Associations

Washington State Psychological Association

International Centre of Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy

My Path to This Work

My clinical training started far from couples therapy. During graduate school I worked with severe mental illness, hospital psychology, and neuropsychology, and I conducted research on trauma. My doctoral project examined couples therapy as an adjunct treatment for individual PTSD — an early signal of where I was headed.

My internship at the VA in Dallas and subsequent residency in Bedford, MA took me through rotations in primary care behavioral health, pain psychology, PTSD, spinal cord injury, and substance abuse. I worked with people carrying some of the heaviest burdens imaginable. That training shaped how I hold pain in a room.

After licensure in 2014 I took a position in a primary care clinic building an in-house psychology program. It was good work — but something was missing. The relational component. The part where two people find their way back to each other. I knew that was where I belonged.

I left, joined a private practice, deepened my training in EFT, and in 2016 opened Meaningful Journey Counseling — which has specialized in couples and relational work ever since. I haven't looked back.