Rebekah Coval (Associate Therapist)

Rebekah Coval, NCC (she/her) has been working as an individual and couples therapist at The Center for Growth since February 2021. She currently sees clients virtually and in person at the Art Museum location. Additionally she runs the Chronic Pain Support Group. Rebekah specializes in couples counseling, relationship discernment, loss, chronic illness/chronic pain, life transitions, dance movement therapy, and issues surrounding spirituality. Before entering into the field of counseling, Rebekah worked as a birth doula, supporting individuals and families through pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period. Most recently, Rebekah spent a year in South America where she worked with adolescent victims of sexual abuse, drawing on dance and drama therapy. She is able to accommodate Spanish speaking clients who may not be able to express themselves fully in English. Rebekah’s background and interests are diverse – her specialties include, but are not limited to:

Couples Counseling and Relationship Discernment in Philadelphia

Rebekah works with couples who are seeking to improve their relationship as well as couples who are discerning whether they want to remain in their relationship. She creates an unbiased space where each partner can feel heard, understood, and seen. Oftentimes couples are carrying wounds or resentments that impact their capacity to stay present to the relationship. This makes intimacy, communication, and discernment all very difficult. Rebekah works with her clients to develop greater understanding around what each partner is bringing into the relationship from their family of origin and from past experiences or relationships. She also works to clarify what each partner needs and any barriers to those needs being met. As couples develop understanding of themselves and their partner, space is created for change and healing to occur, whether clients are seeking to improve their relationship or peacefully end it. Rebekah offers practical communication and conflict resolution skills that can be practiced both inside and outside of therapy.

Rebekah also works with clients who are healing from relationships that have ended. She walks with her clients as they slowly rebuild or reorient their lives. Oftentimes, we leave relationships not because we stop loving our partner, but because it no longer feels healthy. Even when a relationship is unhealthy, we can become accustomed to its familiarity and even its toxic patterns. There is often distress during the discernment period and a grieving process must take place once the decision is made. Rebekah accompanies her clients through this process of letting go and reorienting. Navigating through daily life as a single person can feel disorienting and scary. Rebekah helps her clients regain a sense of identity outside of their relationship, creating a greater capacity to move forward with confidence and direction.

Identity Therapy in Philadelphia

It can be difficult to know and accept who we are at our deepest core. We often hide parts of our identity from others and even from ourselves. Rebekah works with clients through self-doubt and into a place of true self-acceptance. This may mean acknowledging parts of your personality that feel shameful or undesirable and developing the capacity to show compassion towards yourself. Drawing from Internal Family Systems, Rebekah works to give a voice to every part her clients bring to the table. Acknowledging and accepting the different facets of our identity often improves our self-esteem, relationship dynamics, and overall mental health.

Chronic Illness/Chronic Pain Therapy in Philadelphia

Rebekah is currently facilitating the chronic illness/chronic pain support group every Tuesday at 7pm. Chronic conditions often isolate us and threaten our connection to community. Our support group works to form a community of people who understand the nuances of chronic illness and how it impacts our identity, relationships, daily activities, and thoughts about our future. Forming peer support is often a crucial factor in maintaining a sense of self and belonging amid the losses of chronic pain. Rebekah helps her clients grieve these losses and disappointments in both individual and group therapy, addressing medical trauma, how to navigate relationships, how to adjust to a new body/new limitations, how to remain connected while feeling isolated due to physical symptoms, and how to maintain a sense of identity apart from illness. She is especially interested in Lyme Disease and the psychological impact that it can have on those who suffer its affects.

Pregnancy/Postpartum Therapy in Philadelphia

As a doula, Rebekah accompanied many women through pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period. She has experience preparing individuals and couples for birth and what to expect following birth. She is especially interested in helping clients cope with unexpected pregnancies, as there is often a myriad of emotions to sort through. Whether you are excited, afraid, or somewhere in between, preparing for the birth of a child is a significant life event that requires preparation. Sometimes that preparation is practical, and sometimes it requires mental and emotional work that can be done in individual or couples therapy. There may be relational dynamics that need to be addressed before welcoming a new baby into that dynamic. She also helps her clients develop self-care plans that can be implemented and shared with loved ones so that they know how to be of support.

Rebekah also helps clients process traumatic birth experiences, which often go untold or unresolved. The demands of parenting can be so overwhelming that we sometimes do not have the emotional resources to process the actual birthing experience. For those who had a negative or even scary experience, it’s important for that to be honored and processed in a safe space. It is possible to feel gratitude for a healthy child and also struggle with the experiences and emotions that surrounded the pregnancy or birth of that child. Rebekah provides a space for those seemingly contradictory emotions to be shared and walked through in a way that sheds new light and healing.

Loss/Grief Therapy in Philadelphia

Rebekah works with loss and grief of any kind. One area within this field is baby loss. As a doula, Rebekah bore witness to women who struggled with pregnancy loss through miscarriage, abortion, and stillbirth. With all types of grief and loss work, Rebekah seeks to create a safe and nurturing place for grief, doubt, and the myriad questions and emotions that arise after loss. Whether her clients are grieving the loss of an unmet child, a partner, a friend, or a family member, Rebekah joins with her clients wherever they are on their journey with grief. Grief has many faces and forms, none of which are wrong.

Life Transitions/Decision-making Therapy in Philadelphia

Rebekah works with clients at any stage of life who are discerning new relationships, new careers, or new life paths. She is especially interested in working with college students and young adults who are exploring their identity and who they want to be in the world. She helps her clients navigate the anxiety and stress that is often experienced during transitions and decision-making seasons. Rebekah explores values, desires, fears, and goals as a way of helping her clients recognize who they are and where they want to go. She also explores how her clients’ past experiences and upbringing impacts their decision-making and understanding of self. Rebekah seeks to pave a way for her clients to see themselves and their deepest desires with clarity. From this clarity, there is often a way forward into a life that is freely chosen and not dictated by fear. It can be especially difficult for clients who struggle with anxiety disorders, OCD, or perfectionistic tendencies to make big life decisions. There is often debilitating fear around choosing the wrong thing, ending up in a life that is unwanted, or hurting someone else in the decision-making process. Rebekah helps her clients move through that fear, out of a place of stuckness, and into a life of freedom and fullness.

Spirituality Counseling in Philadelphia

Rebekah’s master’s program for counseling allowed her to study the integration between spirituality and mental health. She also studied world religions at Temple University where she grew in appreciation and understanding of many different religious traditions and spiritual practices. Rebekah has a special interest in healing trauma caused by religious experiences or religious leaders. She recognizes that religion and spirituality can be a positive and transformative force, but that it is also a source of pain for many. She is interested in helping her clients incorporate their spirituality in a way that feels healing and life-giving. Rebekah also works to identify where spiritual bypassing may be present and works to integrate her client’s deeply held beliefs with their humanity. Lastly, Rebekah specifically provides Christian counseling for clients who may want to incorporate their faith into the therapeutic process.

Dance/Movement Therapy in Philadelphia

Rebekah is trained in dance movement therapy and believes the body provides invaluable information that can be used as a part of the therapeutic process. She is currently offering virtual movement therapy sessions, but hopes to offer in-person sessions in the future. Rebekah joins with her clients through movement and offers a space for her client to be with their bodies in an intentional way. We often live in the world of our minds and are exhausted from trying to hold everything together or figure out our problems. Dance movement therapy allows space for emotions and answers to be revealed to us through our bodies. Rebekah tailors these sessions to her client’s specific physical and therapeutic needs. Dance movement therapy is not about performance or choreography. Movement is everywhere and in everything – it does not require grand gestures. Dance movement therapy sessions incorporate both movement and talk therapy.

If you’re interested in scheduling an InPerson or Virtual appointment with Rebekah, you can self schedule a therapy appointment or you can call her directly 267-662-1800.

Rebekah Coval (Associate Therapist)'s Resume

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