Heather Rist, LPC

About Heather Rist, LPC

Heather was born in Seattle and grew up in the Arlington area. She graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona and a Master’s in Community Counseling from Northern Arizona University. She is currently studying for a Doctorate in Behavioral Health (DBH) at Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies. The DBH is a relatively new doctoral program designed specifically for Integrated Healthcare.

For the past 25 years, Heather lived in Flagstaff, a small town in the mountains of northern Arizona. She worked in a variety of settings including community behavioral health, domestic violence and sexual assault services, crisis service oversight, training and consultation, and private practice. Most recently she worked at the university providing counseling, training and workshops to faculty and staff on topics including trauma-informed care, burnout, secondary trauma, and workplace wellness.

Heather’s areas of expertise are trauma, stress, and integrated healthcare. She has training in neurobiology, somatic modalities, EMDR, mindfulness, and nutrition for mental health. She loves working with patients to overcome painful experiences from the past and learn how to compassionately care for themselves going forward. She also enjoys providing training and education about NEAR Science (Neurobiology, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resiliency), stress management, self-compassion, and building tools to navigate the hardships that life has for all of us.

Coming from the land of red rocks, Heather is looking forward to exploring trails, waterfalls, beaches, and all things moss-covered and green. Being a self-described “super-nerd”, she loves to read. You can often find her roaming the streets walking her tiny dog with her headphones, listening to a good book or rocking out to her favorite music of the day. Heather loves live music, comedy, movies, eating food prepared by others, coffee, pestering her “young adult, giant-ginger children” to move up to the Olympic Peninsula, making memories with friends, amateur photography, writing, thrifting, starting new hobbies, and a good Netflix binge.