Rachel Nitzarim, Ph.D

Welcome to my private practice. I am Rachel Nitzarim, a licensed clinical psychologist and the owner of Rosewatter Chicagoland Counseling.

I am a proud graduate of UW Madison’s Counseling Psychology PhD program (Go Badgers!) My time at UW was spent delving into social class process and outcome research, training in rigorous clinical settings, gaining a passion for clinical training and forming my own dynamic-relational, common-factors informed, clinical style. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at The Counseling and Mental Health Center at The University of Texas at Austin and my post-doctoral work at Student Counseling Services at The University of Chicago.

After my formal education was complete, I knew that my next steps were to involve a combination of both academic/training and clinically focused work. Currently, I am the Director of Clinical Training at The Chicago School, Clinical PsyD Doctoral Program. I have been with The Chicago School since 2017 and moved into the DCT role in 2019.

Simultaneously, I grew my private practice work at Smith Psychotherapy Associates, S.C., (owned by my wonderful Uncle, shoutout to Robert Smith!) and was on staff there since 2015.

Rosewatter was created in 2022 and also pays homage to my family origins as it is named after my grandmother “Rose” and my mother’s maiden name “Goldwasser”. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors and understanding their history is an incredibly important part of my story. Delving deeply into my clients’ family histories and stories is what I aim to do.

I believe that our family origins are the foundation of who we are and also sometimes provide a pedestal for problems to emerge. I practice from a psychodynamic lens with a relational/interpersonal focus. I believe that understanding one’s history is critical and the work that occurs in the here-and-now is where we can make the most progress together.

Research tells us that the central healing factor in psychotherapy is the real relationship (Wampold, 2015). It is of the upmost importance that my clients feel that I am a good fit for them and vice versa. I see the interaction in the therapy room as being a two-way-street.

In my practice, I work with emerging adults, adults and couples. I also offer training workshops for mental healthcare professionals and consultation services. I am a generalist which means I see a little bit of everything. I especially enjoy working on issues related to: mood/emotion dysregulation, dating and relationships, marriage and divorce, adjustment, life transition, transition to parenthood, couples counseling, LGBTQ+, family dynamics, depression, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, grief/loss, trauma, body image concerns, medical conditions as well as therapist development and supervision.

Outside of work, I enjoy being a self-proclaimed foodie at the delicious Chicagoland restaurants, consuming as many true crime documentaries, reality television series, fiction and nonfiction books as possible, spending time with friends and family, yoga/meditation, and tending to my mini zoo consisting of one turtle, one talkative parrot and three elderly doggies.