Rachel Gaiter is a mental health and substance use professional with over fifteen years of experience providing inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy and care to patients of all ages in private and community-based settings in Jacksonville, Florida. Rachel also has over fifteen years of experience  teaching in both secondary and post-secondary educational arenas.

Rachel specializes in case management, psychosocial rehabilitation, holistic wellness coaching, program assessment and evaluation, and clinical training and development. Rachel’s recent work includes her serving on a national COVID-19 Needs Assessment team, developing and facilitating workshops for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), selected to serve on New York’s Office of Mental Health Crisis Response team to assist in the aftermath of the Buffalo shooting.

Rachel has earned master’s degrees in psychology and business administration; and is currently finalizing her dissertation for her Ph.D. program in Psychology with focus in research titled “Perceptions of Black Women’s Portraits of Beauty in Essence Magazine.” Rachel’s professional interests include reducing recidivism, mood and substance use disorders, and trauma and stressor-related disorders.

Rachel is member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s Gamma Rho Omega Chapter where she currently serves as Secretary, Co-Chairman of the Enhancing Our Environment Initiative and Team Lead for Mental Health Awareness. Rachel was recently appointed to serve on the sorority's Program Committee which provides programming oversight to over 185 chapters in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Rachel is also a member of The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) where she serves as the President of the Jacksonville Chapter and was recently re-elected to serve a second term as the 2022-2024 National Treasurer. In 2022, Rachel received ABPsi’s National Service Award in recognition of her significant record of sustained service at the local and national levels of The Association of Black Psychologists.

In her downtime Rachel enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, and serving the community.

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