iwitness, LLC was founded based on the following core values:
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All individuals are entitled to the basic human rights of safety and stability
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Individuals thrive when they receive the support and resources that they need
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Communities are strengthened and enriched by diversity
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Service providers and the systems in which they work must be prepared to "bear witness" to the unique needs and strengths of diverse communities.
About Rachel Osborn, LICSW, LCSW-C, MSW
Rachel Osborn, LICSW, LCSW-C, MSW is a licensed clinical social worker with over 14 years of experience working with immigrants, refugees and other displaced persons. She has expertise assessing, diagnosing, treating, consulting and training on various emotional health disorders across multicultural populations. Her perspective focuses on the impact of trauma exposure and traumatic stress on an individual's bio-psycho-social development, and emphasizes the role of gender and culture in shaping how an individual experiences and expresses emotional distress.
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Rachel's areas of clinical expertise include working with survivors of sexual assault, torture, persecution, family separation and war-related displacement. Her client base includes families from Latin America, Asia and East and West Africa. Rachel is fluent in Spanish and carries particular expertise working with families escaping gang-related violence and instability in Central America. She previously served as the Associate Director of Prevention, Early Intervention and Integration for a school based mental health program with a large Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Washington, DC, where she provided and supervised the treatment of adolescents and their families. She also has training in research, and has authored reports for publication in the World Refugee Survey. Rachel draws on her clinical interviewing and assessment expertise to build collaborative relationships with her clients and produce expertly-written reports that convey complex clinical concepts and recommendations to non-clinical audiences. Evaluations are grounded in research, literature and forensic best practices to address the legal question at hand using an objective clinical framework. She is listed in the University of California-Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies Expert Witness Database.
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Rachel has additional experience providing public speaking, consultation and clinical supervision. She approaches clinical supervision through the same lens as her therapy: strengths-based, culturally-responsive and trauma-informed. She has trained both local and national audiences on topics related to trauma exposure, vicarious trauma, family stabilization and immigrant and refugee mental health and has been interviewed by CNN, NPR and The Washington Post on these topics.
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Rachel obtained her Bachelor's degrees in International Studies and Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Master of Social Work from the Catholic University of America. She has worked in non-profit, private, academic and research settings, and holds the highest level of clinical licensure with the District of Columbia and Maryland Departments of Health. She is certified as a Family Trauma Practitioner and is trained in delivering Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy STEPS-A, three evidence-based modalities for healing acute and complex trauma. She also holds a certificate in Applied Neuroscience for the treatment of emotional health disorders. Rachel is the daughter of immigrants and has dedicated her life to support the wellbeing of migrant and displaced families. Rachel is fully bilingual in English and Spanish and embraces diverse communities to the fullest extent.
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