Rachael Stern, LCSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

About these Clinics/Practices

Break the Frame Therapy is a neurodivergent-, queer-, and chronic-illness-affirming practice for people who are tired of being told their bodies are “too much” and their symptoms are “all in their head.”

We specialize in working with clients living with hEDS, MCAS, POTS, and other complex, often misunderstood chronic health conditions—especially when those experiences intersect with trauma, neurodivergence, identity, medical burnout, and systemic harm. We understand the grief of a body that won’t cooperate, the exhaustion of constant self-advocacy, and the quiet rage of navigating systems that weren’t built for you—because we live in these bodies too.

Our clinicians bring both lived experience and advanced professional training to the therapy room. Our work integrates EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems (IFS), feminist and anti-oppressive frameworks, and identity-affirming care for Autistic and ADHD adults, queer and trans clients, people in nontraditional relationships, and those navigating chronic illness alongside mental health concerns.

We work gently and intentionally with complex trauma, medical trauma, attachment wounds, eating disorders, chronic stress, burnout, grief, and nervous system dysregulation. Sessions are paced with energy limitations in mind and shaped to honor fluctuating capacity, flare days, and the reality that healing is not linear.

At Break the Frame, therapy isn’t about pushing through pain or gaslighting yourself into “positivity.” It’s about learning how to live in relationship with your body, rebuilding trust with your nervous system, and reclaiming agency in a world that often prioritizes productivity over care.

You deserve therapy that understands complexity—medically, psychologically, socially, and humanly.
This is care that believes you.

Professional Designation: LCSW, LCSW-C, LICSW

Professional Boards and Affiliations: PDA North America