RACHEL L PEPPER

Welcome and thanks for visiting my website! I've recently relocated to Sacramento, and am now offering services to the greater SAC region. I also welcome folks from neighboring areas such as Stockton and Modesto.

I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. I did clinical training through the AIDS Health Project and Dimensions Clinic and have worked at several agencies since then such as Stars and Kaiser Permanente, as a clinician, clinical supervisor, and program director.

I have extensive experience working with folks with depression and anxiety, communication and relationship issues, and more serious mental health concerns, such as bipolar disorder. I'm extremely knowledgable about the therapeutic needs of the LGBT community, including coming out issues, relationship/couples issues, and conception, pregnancy and parenting concerns. I'm also a nationally known expert in the affirming model of gender identity, and work with trans and non-binary youth and adults. I enjoying working with people of all ages, cultures, and gender identities, and especially welcome teens and young adults to my practice.

As an author, I have more than 30 years experience writing for the alternative press and publishing books. My articles and essays have appeared in hundreds of news outlets ranging from the Bay Guardian to Art Forum. I was a founding editor at Curve magazine, where I regularly wrote music and book reviews. Watch for me in the forthcoming documentary "Ahead of the Curve."

Over the years, I have been profiled in many newspapers and magazines including the NY Times. I have written, edited, or co-written several books, the best known of which is The Transgender Child, which I cowrote with Stephanie Brill, and which has been read by many thousands of people all over the world. It has even been translated into German! My writing has won several awards including the 2013 IPPY award for Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children.

Fun links to learn more:

Here are links to my books, including the 2013 IPPY Award winner Transitions of the Heart.

Me, on TV!
A while back, I had the honor of appearing on Bay Sunday to speak about my work and promote Transitions of the Heart, an award winning book I edited. Here is a link if you are interested in watching it on YouTube: Watch Rachel on Bay Sunday!

And a timely interview in the NY Times, too
Check out this New York Times feature, a Women in the World column about new options for transgender children.
Click here to read the New York Times interview

Contact me
If you wish to e-mail me, you can do so at RLPepper@Hotmail.com. Please put "contacting Rachel Pepper" in the subject line. You can also reach me via phone at my confidential private practice number, 510-359-8756. If I don't answer, please do leave a message.