Rachel Scharf

I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW-C) in Maryland! I got my Master's from the Catholic University of America. I have been practicing for the past five years and specialize in working with teens and young adults. I also have experience providing parenting support/coaching and offer neurodivergent affirming care.

I love working with teens or young adults who are struggling to navigate the challenges of adolescence & or college & adulting. Being a teen or entering into the grown-up world is really hard, & I can help facilitate & offer concrete tools for navigating any struggles encountered along the way. I am trained in trauma-informed & neuroaffirming care.

I aim to create a safe space where you will feel comfortable doing the hard work that therapy requires and sharing difficult or vulnerable feelings. I am also creative and can utilize arts or music through a therapeutic lens if that is something you are interested in! My approach utilizes a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and a psychodynamic lens. CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, is skills-based based and we can review concrete tools and strategies to help improve your wellbeing. Psychodynamic is more traditional talk therapy, where we can go at your pace and work through and process deeper feelings.

In our first session, I have a lot of background questions to go over and discuss with you. Those are important so that I can understand the full picture around your life. We will also work together to create a treatment plan and goals that we can start working towards.