"I want to reclaim space; I want to rest my weight against the boundaries set by others and push against them.
Writing this is a push, making a little more room for myself and – I hope – others. Can you feel it?"
-Nell Brown, "This Love"
(Stim: An Autistic Anthology)
The Properties of Light grew into existence as a small, personal act of resistance.
Resistance to experiences of pathology, othering, and disempowerment. Resistance to socialization that prioritizes assimilation over authenticity. Resistance to narratives that focus on fear and threats to survival, with little space for joy. Resistance to a culture where care and inclusion are commodities, where we are presented with a false binary of choice between caring for ourselves and caring for others. Resistance to tokenization in systems which continue to perpetuate cycles of harm rather than work to dismantle them.
"The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives.
It is within this light that we form these ideas by which we pursue our magic and make it realized.
This is poetry as illumination, for it is through poetry that we give name to those ideas which are - until the poem - nameless and formless, about to be birthed, but already felt.”
-Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider
Hi, I’m Rachel (they/she).
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the founder/owner/operator of The Properties of Light, LLC.
The properties of light is the product of my own journey of (un)learning and acceptance, and the accompanying process of intentionally integrating my "selves" - my professional expertise as an educator and clinical social worker, and my lived experiences as a non-binary + multiply neurodivergent/neuroqueer person, partner, and parent.
It is quite literally the outcome of my realization of all that was nameless and formless - and deeply felt - throughout a great deal of my life. And as a true representation of the ways in which I have always moved through the world, it was born of a pervasive drive for autonomy, with the presence of hope and spite in equal measure.
Currently I offer clinical services including individual and group counseling for queer, trans, & non-binary + autistic & multiply neurodivergent young people up to age 12, and autistic-centered diagnostic evaluation services for autism (and/or adhd) for people of all ages. I also spend time building groups and community offerings, developing and facilitating workshops and trainings of many kinds, and provide consultation and advanced training in my areas of lived + learned experience.
For more on my current consultative & training offerings - click here!
For more on my approach to affirming and inclusive diagnostic evaluation services - click here!
For more on my approach to therapy services with youth - click here!
When not in this space, I can be found reading anything and everything, trying to learn all I can about this world while attempting to find my place in it - guided daily by the young people in my love and care.
My Credentials:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Supervisor (LCSW)
Board Approved LCSW Supervisor, Virginia
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, VA #0904010780
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NY #094611
ADHD - Certified Clinical Service Provider (ADHD-CCSP)
Certified Clinical Trauma Provider (CCTP)
Game to Grow Method of Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing Games, Level 1
Trained Facilitator, Circle of Parents
My Current Affiliations:
Founder, Centering Trans Joy: A Coalition of Therapists for Youth and Families
Founder, NeuroqueerVA
Member, Transgender Professional Association for Transgender Health (TPATH)
Member, Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDH); Health at Any Size
These are a few of the reasons I’m building the Properties of Light:
To nurture radical self-love and places of belonging by
Creating space for self-understanding, joy and childhood for trans, non-binary, and gender expansive young people.
Providing a non-pathologizing, gender inclusive process of self-exploration that affirms positive autistic and neurodivergent identity in people of all ages.
Examining our existing systems of care through a lens of anti-oppression, anti-racism and intersectional justice - rejecting pathology, compliance and assimilation in favor of validation, affirmation and authenticity.
Empowering parents/caregivers to radically accept, celebrate and support the young people in their networks of care and love through education and collaboration.
Building a community of trauma-aware, knowledgeable, and accountable allied helping professionals and advocates - folks who center and affirm the experiences of neuroqueer people.
Engaging in life-long learning, professional development and personal growth - developing mutual aid relationships and participating in a system of sustainable community care.
Whatever YOUR reasons, I’m glad you're here, too.
My mission to center authenticity, healing & belonging for neurodivergent* + queer, trans, & non-binary people
includes community for providers, too.
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Emmin Bickford, MSW
Resident Therapist, Individual Counseling for ages 4+
Emmin (they/them) provides individual and group counseling services for lgbtqia+ and/or neurodivergent youth and young adults. Emmin’s clinical supervisors are Camille Rudney, LCSW and Rachel Boggan, LCSW.
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evan white, MSW
Resident Therapist, Individual Counseling for ages 16+
evan(they/them) provides individual and group counseling services for lgbtqia+ and/or neurodivergent folks ages 18+. evan’s clinical supervisors are Camille Rudney, LCSW and Rachel Boggan, LCSW.
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Ruby Tippl, MSW, Supervisee in Social Work
Resident Therapist, Services for 18+
Ruby (they/them) is a resident therapist who provides individual and group counseling services for neurodivergent and/or lgbtqia+ folks ages 18+ in Virginia. Ruby's clinical supervisor is Rachel Boggan, LCSW.
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Lindsey Bat, MSW, LCSW, CCTP
Lindsey (she/they) provides Diagnostic Autism Assessment services through The Properties of Light. Lindsey sees individual clients in her private practice, www.LindseyBatLCSW.
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Camille Rudney, MSW, LCSW-S
Clinical Supervision & Assessment Services
Camille (they/them) provides Clinical Supervision for Resident Therapists and Diagnostic Autism & ADHD Assessment services. They provide individual counseling, consultation, and trainings in their private practice, www.CamilleRudneyLCSW.com.