Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Yigael.
Hi Rebekah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m known by most as someone with a warm, bubbly personality. I love to laugh and dance and bring light into any room I have the honor of stepping into. Which is why it can come as a surprise to learn that I’ve faced my fair share of grief and trauma at a young age. Growing up with family members struggling with undiagnosed mental health issues and losing loved ones at a young age ignited a passion in my early 20s to help people heal from trauma and difficult life experiences.
I didn’t know it at the time, but moving from a small town in Texas to the booming city of Houston to attend the Graduate College of Social Work would mean so much more than just getting my master’s. This was an important moment in my own healing process. Moving to Houston was a critical step in fostering a healthier relationship with myself and learning that I have always been good enough- good enough to have healthy relationships, good enough to pursue grad school, and good enough to have a fulfilling career. After graduating and accepting a position at a treatment center focusing on helping teens and families with intergenerational trauma and addiction, I decided it was time to start healing from my own childhood trauma by attending therapy myself. There was something special about finding the strength to begin therapy just as I had begun the journey of being a therapist for others. I have the utmost respect and admiration for anyone who decides to take that step to go to therapy because I know just how challenging it is to not allow fear, denial and excuses to get in the way of asking for help. That inner-critic can get loud, and reaching out can feel like defeat or weakness, even though the honest truth is that none of us were ever meant to figure out this whole life thing on our own.
My own process of self-empowerment and healing continued to transform just as my role as a social worker shifted over the years. I was given the chance to work with some amazing humans along the way, in working at a trauma center specializing in helping veterans, survivors of physical and sexual assault, and natural disasters, and later at an IVF clinic, where I supported women and couples as they navigated the emotional ups and downs of in vitro fertilization with the dreams of having a baby. Each of these points in my journey has taught me that we all experience moments in our life that shape and impact how we view the world- my hope in doing this work is that there will be more people out there who understand just how valuable and good enough they really are.
This work is so meaningful because I’ve been there- I know what it feels like to be stuck on repeat in the past and unable to move forward due to the things that have happened in my life. I want you to know that no matter what dark and painful things you’ve experienced, you are not bad. You are perfectly human, and beautiful just as you are, and it is totally possible to move forward and live a life full of meaning and joy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
From a young age, I wondered how exactly I fit into the spaces I entered. I saw myself on the outside, looking in, unsure of whether I was really good enough or if I would ever be accepted for me. When my grandmother, someone I looked up to and loved dearly, died unexpectedly during my freshman year in high school, my world stopped. This loss rattled everyone in my family, and sadly it was the first of a number of devastating losses I experienced during my teens.
Each of these moments impacted my sense of self and safety, causing me to be anxious and in fight-or-flight mode essentially all the time. But somehow I found hope, continuing to get out of bed in the morning by putting one foot in front of the other. I’m so grateful that I managed to push through and graduate from high school in order to find myself absorbed in my first psychology class during my freshman year of college.
I fell in love with learning, soaking up everything I could about human behavior and the mind. Learning about people and understanding why they do what they do excited me in a way I hadn’t experienced before. As I continued through my college career, I started to understand my own story and show myself compassion for all that I had been through. We all experience pain, loss and dark moments in life. I want you to know that you are inherently good, and worthy of good things in your future, no matter what bad things may have happened to you in the past.
We have all collectively been through so much over the past few years, causing me to take pause and do some serious inner-work, exploring the spiritual side of me that I’d never known before. What’s helped me most during moments of uncertainty is getting deeper into my meditation practice and doing restorative yoga to keep my mind attuned to what my body is experiencing throughout my day. I also have learned that the more time I spend outside, the more myself I feel.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” -C.G. Jung
I am a clinician offering individual therapy and coaching services to adults throughout Texas. My partner and I opened HVL Therapy & Coaching Center in October 2021 and specialize in providing integrated care, with the mind-body connection being at the heart of our work.
I help women move forward from trauma, anxiety and difficult life experiences. Any event that negatively shapes how we view our self-worth, safety, and relationships falls under this category. The cool thing is that our brains know how to heal from these memories with a little help- that’s where I come in.
I feel the most joy when using science-backed approaches (EMDR, Mindfulness-Based) to help people reduce the stress and tension connected to painful moments from the past- this might be anything from being bullied in middle school to experiencing combat trauma or sexual assault. What matters is the meaning we make of the event and how we hold that meaning with us long after the event ends- with thoughts of not being good, lovable or safe enough getting in the way of the here and now. These thoughts cause stress and tension to come up in the body, and with therapy, we want to get you to a point where you’re feeling no tension related to the event, replacing negative thoughts with more adaptive ones, such as, “I can learn from my mistakes” or “I’m fine just as I am.” Once we get unstuck from past events, we get to work on feeling better and experiencing joy in the moment.
I enjoy working with women ages 17+ going through different life transitions, like starting college or grad school, a new job, or experiencing the ongoing process of IVF. This work is most exciting when I hear my clients say that the tools and techniques taught in session are making a difference in their daily life. It’s important that I bring approaches into each session that really work and help my clients find relief. Being able to witness the magic of therapy at work when the wheels start turning and my clients become aware of patterns and stuck points is what makes the work fun. My love for learning and the dedication I have to my clients means that I am continuously reading and soaking up new data and techniques to improve my ability to help in a skillful way.
I want my future clients to know that in scheduling a session with me, they are sitting with another human who really wants to understand you. I want you to feel comfortable bringing your authentic self into sessions because I am going to do the same. We are a team, and you are the expert in your life- I’m simply here to help you discover the resources and insight that is within you, waiting to be uncovered. In order to do the good work, there needs to be a level of comfort that the other person listening to you really gets it and knows how to help. This is my commitment to you.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
To all the professionals entering the work field- know that it’s normal for this new chapter of your life to bring on feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt, but please remember who you are and how far you’ve come to get to this point. Begin viewing mistakes as an opportunity to learn and improve, rather than seeing bumps in the road as proof that you’re not cut out for the career path you’ve chosen. Being able to show yourself compassion and grace when you’re just starting out will be an essential inner-resource to keep with you throughout your life and career. Try not to allow your inner-critic to convince you to play it small. Keep in mind that you are literally getting smarter, with your intelligence expanding, each time you take on something new and encourage yourself to get out of your comfort zone. You don’t have to have all the answers- just continue to ask questions and challenge the systems set in place that exist to maintain the status quo. If you’re unsure exactly of what career path is right for you- ask yourself- what type of career will allow me to wake up each day with excitement?
Regardless of your career path, I hope that you find time to do things you enjoy, even if in simple ways. Figure out what things, people and experiences help you feel the most alive and do more of that. If you’re unsure of what those activities are, think back to a time when you experienced the most joy or contentment in life. What were you doing that brought you that joy? What were some of your favorite moments as a child? What did you most enjoy doing during that time of your life? Exploring? Playing outside? Reading books? Make these activities a priority.
Pricing:
- Therapy $168
- Therapy for Infertility $168
- EMDR Therapy $168
- Strategic Life Coaching $135
Contact Info:
- Email: rebekah@herovillainlife.com
- Website: https://www.hvltcc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hvl_therapyandcoaching/?hl=en
Image Credits
Madison “Maddie” Shingleton
