Rachel Henning LPC, CST, 601 Strada Cr, Mansfield, TX (2026)

02/27/2026

Healing shouldn’t feel like a chore. I’m Rachel, a Texas based therapist with a passion for helping you navigate the shame and confusion that often comes from the overlap of faith, trauma, and intimacy.

Off the clock you’ll usually find me going to sports events for my teenage sons, relaxing with crochet or paint by numbers, and if I’m feeling really productive, studying for a big exam I have in June. I have two goofy Boxer mixes, Willa and Tucker, that make life interesting and messy and I’ve been married to my husband, Ben, for 21 years!
In my office and my corner of the internet, we move toward safety and assurance. I specialize in EMDR and trauma recovery, helping your body realize that the past has come and gone so you can be present today. S_x therapy, deconstructing religious shame and navigating s_xual pain or dysfunction without the guilt. And couples counseling, to rebuild your connection so that it feels like a choice and not a chore.

As a client, you’ll be challenged to take an active role in shaping the narrative of your own life, embracing your unique experiences and perspectives so that you can write the story that reflects your true desires and aspirations. Healing comes with building safety, and I’d be honored to walk with you on that road. Welcome 🤍

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/21/2026

Your nervous system isn’t a reflection of your faith. Many of us grew up thinking that if we just pray correctly or enough, that our negative emotions and sensations will just stop. “Pray it away”, if you will. But you aren’t a robot.
Faith and prayer help us navigate to safety while still allowing the body to be human and feel. If a warning light pops up on your car’s dashboard, putting tape over the light so you can’t see it doesn’t fix the problem. The light is a signal that something inside needs attention, and it still exists, even with the tape. So if the light is your anxiety and the tape is repression, to regulate is to be honest with yourself, remove the tape, and address what’s happening under the surface.

To cast is to both hand it over AND acknowledge it’s existence. You can be worried and held by Him at the exact same time.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/20/2026

You aren’t the problem, the problem is the problem. So many of us internalize our struggles, claiming them as a piece of us without even considering that there might be an external factor that we had no control over.

In using a Narrative Therapy lens, we do something called Externalizing. We take that shame, that “duty,” and that “fear” and we move them outside of you. We recognize that these are uninvited guests, narratives of Purity Culture that were handed to you before you could even choose them.
When we stop saying “I am broken” and start saying “Shame is interfering with my intimacy,” everything changes. You and your partner are no longer on opposite sides of a libido gap; you’re on the same team, working together to show that uninvited guest the door.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/17/2026

You can’t “pray away” the natural responses of your nervous system.
Being told that you need to believe more or pray harder to rid yourself of struggle dismisses the reality of your lived experience. When more faith is framed as the only solution to a complex human problem, it leads to shame and a sense of spiritual failure. But your body is designed to respond to its environment - having a nervous system that reacts to stress is a sign of a working body and not a spiritual deficit.

Faith is where we find comfort within struggle, not something used to bypass it. Seeking therapy, taking medication, setting boundaries, or caring for your body in the way it needs is are all ways of practicing stewardship over the life God gave you. No matter how deep or vibrant your faith is, you can still be a person who struggles. Faith and struggle are not mutually exclusive, nor does struggle make you any less than.

Utilizing resources outside of my faith to heal is the way I honor the life and body God gave me.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/15/2026

You don’t, and will never, owe your partner your body. I know that sometimes when scripture is taken out of context or a single verse is read as if it’s absolute, there can be confusion around the implied meaning.

I’ve worked with a lot of women, men, and couples who grew up in a Christian home surrounded by purity culture, and a value that comes up over and over again is 1 Corinthians 7:5, “Don’t deprive each other.” This verse gets framed as, once married, s_x is required often to keep a relationship happy. This “requirement” ends up as a responsibility placed on women - to please and serve your husband, even if you don’t want to. Otherwise, he might leave you because of it.

But, the weaponized meaning is wildly different than what’s implied. The whole passage goes, “Don’t deprive each other, by mutual consent, for a time.” With context, it becomes clear that there’s emphasis on a consensual, two way responsibility. Paul is talking to married couples about connection and shared decision-making.
You aren’t an object to be managed. Marriage is a team sport - and a team works together.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/10/2026

Even if your brain says yes, your body might be saying no.
I know that you want to enjoy intimate moments with your partner, who doesn’t? If you grew up with messages that taught you enjoying the body you were given is dangerous or shameful, your nervous system learned a very effective way to protect you…’power down’. Or, in therapy, ‘the freeze response’. Even with a partner you love and trust, your body has stored this as a default response to intimacy. Your nervous system thinks affection = danger.

When things start to feel overwhelming or frozen, just pushing through it is never the answer. These are a few of my favorite ways to bring me back to my body…
+ to tell your brain it has choice and safety: place your feet on the ground or bed and look around slowly. name 5 things you can see. ask yourself, “where am I? who am I with? am I safe in this moment? am I feeling pressured?”
+ when things move too fast: start slow. jumping straight to s_xual touch can spike danger signals. first try, hold hands, sitting close, press your forehead to theirs, gentle back rubs, and/or eye contact and breath.
+ to signal the parasympathetic system: inhale 4, exhale 6, 5-8 rounds. don’t rush through! or, place a hand on the chest + stomach and breathe without focus on timing.
+ when you feel stuck: shake it out - yes, like a dog lol. shake your hands and arms, roll your shoulders, wiggle back into your own body.

Your homework this week is to politely say ‘no’ to a task you don’t have capacity for, or take a break when you need it.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/07/2026

It’s too easy to let the day to day drown out the small joys of life. I’ve been working on not letting my days just happen to me, and instead, actually show up for each moment. Like seeing my teenagers (the miracle of all miracles) actually choose teamwork instead of a fight. Or my dog deciding that my afternoon video call was the absolute best time for zoomies 😂

But, I’ve realized that if I don’t intentionally experience these moments, they disappear. It’s real science! We’re wired to have a negativity bias, our brains are more likely to remember a threat out of survival. By intentionally recognizing small moments, like the first sip of an incredible latte, we’re building neural plasticity. Moving that memory from being “passing” to “structural” builds resilience to stress. And of course, you’re activating your parasympathetic nervous system to tell your body you’re safe.
So through next week, I want you to try and make note of every moment of joy, and remind yourself to stay present to actually experience your days.

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

02/03/2026

And no, I will not be elaborating (unless you ask nicely 🤍)
Based on my 18+ years of experience as an LPC and 7 years as a Certified S_x Therapist, these are some of my favorite notions and realizations that I will forever shout from the rooftops. Did any of these resonate? Or make you stop and think?

Rachel Henning, LPC, CST
Licensed Professional Counselor
EMDR Trained Therapist
Certified S_x Therapist
ICP IASIS MCN Provider

Rachel Henning LPC, CST

02/27/2026

02/21/2026

02/20/2026

02/17/2026

02/15/2026

02/10/2026

02/07/2026

02/03/2026

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