Rachel Foster, Ph.D.

Dr. Rachel Foster (she/her) graduated with her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology (with a specialization in Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science) from the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development in 2021. She completed an APA-accredited clinical psychology internship at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Dr. Foster strives to understand both typical and atypical development from a multilevel perspective, considering the interactions between biological and environmental risk and protective factors involved in each person’s developmental trajectory. Her specific areas of interest center around the interactions between risk, parenting and child socioemotional development within contexts of adversity, as well as child and family prevention and intervention program development. Her dissertation investigated early correlates of adult reflective functioning within a prospective, longitudinal study of adults born into poverty.

Clinically, Dr. Foster has worked primarily with children, teens and their families to treat a wide variety of internalizing and externalizing concerns. She has also worked with children with chronic medical illness, adults and women during the perinatal period. She has experience administering numerous evidence-based interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). Dr. Foster strives to use a warm, empathetic and collaborative approach to help her clients achieve their goals and live a life worth living.