Specialties
Identity & Life Transitions Therapy in Brookline, MA
Big questions about who you are and where you're going can surface at any age. As a licensed psychologist in Brookline, I help college students and adults navigate life transitions, clarify their values, and reconnect with a fuller sense of self.
In short: Identity development therapy with Dr. Rebecca Rabin, PsyD helps you explore who you are during periods of change, uncertainty, or feeling stuck. Through psychodynamic, reflective work, you clarify values, purpose, and direction. Sessions are available in-person in Brookline, MA and via telehealth across Massachusetts.
When "who am I?" becomes hard to answer
Identity isn't fixed. It shifts as we move through school, careers, relationships, and the quieter internal changes that come with age. Sometimes those shifts arrive gradually, and sometimes a single transition forces the question of who you really are and what you want your life to mean.
Many people arrive in therapy feeling stuck, restless, or strangely disconnected from a life that looks fine on paper. If that resonates, you're not alone — and this kind of searching often signals meaningful growth waiting to happen.
Feeling lost, stuck, or unsure of your direction
A sense that you're living someone else's expectations
Navigating a major transition in your 20s, 30s, or beyond
Questioning your career, relationships, or long-held choices
Difficulty knowing what you actually want or value
Reconnecting with cultural, personal, or evolving parts of yourself
Navigating life transitions
Transitions — leaving school, changing careers, ending or beginning a relationship, becoming a parent, moving cities, or entering a new decade — reorganize how you see yourself. Even welcome changes can bring grief for the version of life you're leaving behind.
In our work together, we make room for both the excitement and the loss. Rather than rushing you toward a decision, I help you slow down, understand what's pulling at you, and move forward from a place that genuinely fits who you are becoming.
There's rarely a single right answer, and that uncertainty can be uncomfortable. Part of this work is learning to tolerate not-knowing long enough for real clarity to arrive, instead of grabbing the first exit from discomfort. What emerges tends to be steadier and more truly your own.
How I approach identity work
My approach is largely psychodynamic — a reflective, exploratory therapy that goes beneath the surface of a decision to the emotions, patterns, and early experiences shaping it. We pay attention to recurring themes in your life and how you relate to yourself and others.Identity rarely clarifies through advice or pro-and-con lists. It emerges through honest conversation in a safe relationship, where you can hear your own thoughts more clearly. I believe we are human beings, not human doers — and that reconnecting with that truth is often where real direction begins.
Culture, self, and the many parts of identity
Identity is layered. It includes not only career and relationships but also culture, family history, gender, spirituality, and the private sense of self that no one else fully sees. For many people, these threads pull in different directions, or a long-quiet part of the self begins asking for room to exist.
I bring curiosity and respect to all of who you are. There's no agenda about who you should become — only a shared effort to understand the person you already are more clearly, and to help the different parts of your life feel more like they belong to one whole.
What this work can help you feel
A clearer sense of your values and what matters most
Less pressure to meet others' expectations
A more integrated, compassionate relationship with yourself
Confidence in decisions that feel authentically yours
Steadier footing through change and uncertainty
Identity & life transitions FAQs
What is identity development therapy?
It's therapy focused on understanding who you are — your values, relationships, purpose, and sense of self — especially during change or uncertainty. Through reflective, psychodynamic exploration, we clarify what genuinely matters to you so you can move forward with more direction and self-trust.
Can therapy help if I just feel stuck?
Yes. Feeling stuck is one of the most common reasons people begin therapy. Together we explore what's underneath the stuckness — often unspoken fears, competing desires, or old patterns — so you can understand it and take meaningful, sustainable steps toward the change you want.
Is this therapy only for young adults?
No. Identity questions surface throughout life — in your 20s and 30s, at midlife, after major transitions, or any time a chapter ends. Adults of any age can benefit from exploring who they are, what they value, and who they want to become.
How is this different from career counseling?
Career counseling focuses on practical job decisions. Identity work is broader and deeper — we explore the emotions, relationships, and patterns shaping your choices. Career clarity often emerges naturally, but from a fuller understanding of yourself, not just a job title.
Do you offer identity therapy online in Massachusetts?
Yes. I offer secure telehealth sessions to clients across Massachusetts, along with in-person sessions in Brookline. Reflective, exploratory work translates well to video, so you can do meaningful therapy from wherever you feel most comfortable. Reach out for a free consultation.
I'm here for you.
Do you want to feel understood and discover a pathway forward?
Reach out today and let's get you started.