Patricia Rickenbaker, LISW-CP

"In psychotherapy we try to create a nonjudgmental space where people can examine their feelings, their relationships, their lives. With support and validation, they sometimes decide to make healthy changes. My privilege is to be a part of that journey."

Patricia Rickenbaker, a licensed clinical social worker, came to Beaufort Memorial Sea Island Psychiatry in 2014 from Wake Health Services in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she helped to establish a behavioral health care program in two of the community health center’s primary care offices.

Trained and experienced in psychodynamic psychotherapy, she uses a number of techniques in patient treatment, including re-decision, trauma recovery and mind-body focus.

Before moving to North Carolina, Ms. Rickenbaker was in private practice in Orangeburg for five years and created a behavioral health program at what is now Beaufort Memorial Harrison Peeples Health Care Center in Hampton. Earlier, the former school teacher and museum director worked at other mental health facilities in the Carolinas.

Ms. Rickenbaker has a grown son, a grandson and an extended family to whom she is very close. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, painting and cooking.