Dr. Rachel Dawkins
LCSW
Dr. Rachel Dawkins is an outstanding trauma therapist who works with individuals, couples, families, and adolescents. She is especially skilled in helping clients navigate complex trauma, relationship patterns, and family dynamics, offering a grounded, steady presence during some of life’s most difficult seasons.
Rachel is direct, tough-minded, and refreshingly uninterested in sugar-coating the truth. She is sassy, smart, and a little cheeky, using humor and straight talk to cut through nonsense and help people see what’s actually keeping them stuck.
Around CCM, she’s often called our “Christian Dr. Phil”—the one who will tell you what you need to hear, not just what feels good. Rachel believes honesty is kindness, accountability matters, and real growth usually starts where comfort ends. Clients who work well with her value her clarity, confidence, and refusal to collude with stuck patterns.
Rachel’s approach was shaped by lived experience long before it was shaped by formal education. She left an abusive marriage with two small children, no financial support, and no college education. Her ex-husband was clear in his beliefs—that women didn’t need an education and belonged in the home. Rachel chose a different path. She rebuilt her life from the ground up—raising her children, working her way out of housing insecurity, and putting herself through school until she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from SIU, her Master’s degree from Arizona State University, and ultimately her Doctorate in Social Work from Capella University. Turns out, being told “you can’t” can be a powerful motivator—especially when paired with intelligence, faith, and relentless perseverance.
Clinically, Rachel specializes in trauma, personality disorders, dissociative disorders, substance use, and complex family and relationship dynamics. She is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and EMDR and brings strong clinical judgment alongside lived wisdom into the therapy room. She also has a deep heart for individuals who are often overlooked or written off, including those impacted by homelessness, incarceration, and military service.
Rachel believes people are capable of change—but not without honesty and effort. Her work is practical, collaborative, and grounded, helping clients stabilize what’s urgent while addressing the deeper patterns that shape how they think, feel, and relate. Her faith is steady and lived, not performative.
Outside of work, Rachel enjoys time with her family and is known for her quick wit and unmistakable presence. She is not everyone’s cup of tea—she’s more like strong coffee: bold, energizing, and not for the faint of heart. But for clients who want clarity, challenge, and a therapist who will meet them with truth and respect, Rachel offers something powerful and rare.