Feel Deeply, Live Completely
As a licensed psychologist who supports clients and organizations to enhance and restore wellbeing for those enduring the emotional labor of addressing social and racial injustice, I am passionate about creating psychologically safe places where people can
connect as their whole selves
experience a place of belonging and acceptance that supports their growth
expand compassion for themselves, even as they work to promote compassion for others.
Life often seems to drain the joy, hope, and motivation from those who live in service of others and work diligently for a better world.
However, I witness the brilliance and resilience of changemakers every day - whether caregiving with family, serving as a volunteer, showing up bravely for hard conversations in their community, or leading in their workplace.
If you seek ways to make the world around you more compassionate and just, you are a changemaker.
And while changemaking is meaningful and fulfilling, it is also so frequently depleting for the few that shoulder the largest load and feel the pain of injustice so deeply.
You may feel caught in the storms of intense emotions or like you are drowning in the sea of overwhelm. You may feel that your compassion is spent and you just can’t continue to care so much. You may feel like your only options are to disengage or lash out in justified anger and frustration, even while you know you can’t afford to give up.
Some days, it may feel impossible to show up with presence, energy, and hope for others when you are barely holding it together yourself.
It can be all too easy to push past the early warning signs of compassion fatigue and burnout in an effort to support those whose needs seem more urgent than your own.
There is another way.
I want you to feel hopeful, inspired, and energized as you endeavor to make the world more compassionate and just.
I want you to feel calm and steady, even when you are present with the most intense emotions. I want you to feel emotionally solid, grounded, and confident doing the work that you are called to do in the world, whether it is out of necessity for the survival of yourself and your loved ones, to create safety, belonging, and equitable access and opportunities for everyone, to leave a legacy of a better world than you were given - or all of the above!
I am passionate about helping you cultivate compassion for yourself as you continue to demonstrate compassion to others.
My goal is to help you recognize the importance of caring for yourself and understand how destigmatizing self-compassion and demystifying compassion for others is integral to sustainable change-making efforts.
Your emotions and sensations can be your lighthouse.
Many people think negative emotions sabotage progress and connection, but I believe that, really, they are the doorway to the most effective solutions for improving our lives, relationships, and the world around us.
I have witnessed, again and again, how changing your relationship to emotions (your own and others) is integral to changing the world, and your experience in it.
By changing your relationship to your emotions, you begin to grieve and heal.
In doing so, you can show up sustainably and effectively to change the world, without sacrificing your own well-being in the process.
“Dr. Rebecca Eldredge is one of my absolute favorite humans. I’ve known Rebecca for more than 15 years and during that time, her passion for multiculturalism, diversity inclusion, and social justice has not wavered. In early years I looked to Dr. Eldredge for understanding, support, and guidance as I developed as a facilitator, trainer, and supervisor; in recent years, I’ve turned to her insight, expertise, and feedback as a friend and colleague.
With her, I can express my full range of emotions without worrying that I’ll have to justify my feelings or wonder if she “gets it.” Having co-facilitated groups with Rebecca and participated in groups led by Rebecca, I can truly say that she has a gift for making space for each person’s experience, truth, discomfort, joys, and pains. Rebecca is someone who cares about impact and service rather than being showy or performative. She approaches her work with genuine warmth, humility, and compassion.
I’d recommend her services, speaking, and facilitation to any person or group looking to support themselves or their teams in sustainable, compassionate, and effective changemaking.”
Would you like to honor your own self-compassion and well-being so you can bring lasting compassion and justice to the world around you?
About Rebecca:
Rebecca Eldredge is a licensed psychologist who focuses on the integration of wellness and social justice. She works with organizations as well as individual and group clients through therapy, coaching, facilitation, and speaking engagements to strengthen their emotional well-being so they can pursue effective changemaking without sacrificing the well-being of themselves, their teams, or the clients they support.
Rebecca has provided services focused on well-being and cultural competence for more than 20 years.
She has offered individual and group therapy, supervision, and training through a variety of settings including independent practice, university counseling centers, community mental health agencies, and partial hospitalization programs.
She also has extensive experience and passion for providing professional speaking and facilitation on a wide variety of topics. She centers the integration of emotional wellness, cultural competence, and changemaking to make organizations, communities, and the world around us more compassionate and just.
Rebecca received both her M.A. and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (APA accredited). She completed a full-time, APA-accredited, predoctoral internship at University of Oregon’s counseling center in Eugene and a Multicultural Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Houston’s Counseling and Psychological Services. Rebecca has worked in independent practice in Houston, Texas and Traverse City, Michigan.
Rebecca previously taught as an adjunct professor for the University of Houston’s and Our Lady of the Lake's graduate psychology programs. She helped develop and implement support programs for female refugees in Houston through Interfaith Ministries.
She is a member of the American Psychological Association and adheres to the ethical principles and guidelines as outlined by APA.
Rebecca identifies as a highly sensitive, introvert who recognizes privilege in many aspects of her identity. She enjoys a variety of passions in addition to her work, including nature, travel, learning, and time with close family and friends.
Why does a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman do this work?
Rebecca as a Coaching Leader
“Rebecca speaks from experience, with a wealth of knowledge, and a compassionate heart. Her depth of feeling and commitment to facilitating positive change in our world, together with examples and practical applications are inspiring.”
“I have attended two workshops with Rebecca and find her to be a wonderful coach on this anti-racism path. She is knowledgeable and very gentle in her approach to the guidance we all need.”
“Rebecca has been so helpful as she has thoughtfully and sensitively responded to my deep concerns, by providing strategies to gradually breakdown barriers and truly make a difference.”
“Rebecca’s manner is non judgmental. I find myself sharing concerns with her that I might not tell others. Through her short, targeted messages I have found a path forward out of helplessness and grief.”
