Today we’d like to introduce you to Shantora Oyeneyin.
Hi Shantora, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Wow. My story began long before I ever became the Licensed Clinical Social Worker and entrepreneur I am today! I grew up as the oldest child in a home impacted by poverty, alcoholism, and chronic domestic violence. I remember being four years old and already feeling responsible for protecting everyone around me, including my mother, during nights filled with absolute fear and constant uncertainty. Because of our circumstances, my siblings and I were frequently involved with “the system,” and I experienced firsthand what it felt like to be helped in ways that did not always feel authentic or effective. I couldn’t understand why no one would “save us”. It was then I knew I wanted to become the person I needed and to be of service to others, especially the vulnerable with a different level of grace and without judgement.
When my grandmother, the matriarch of our family and our only “safe place” died, I was 13, and life fell apart quickly. My mother turned to drugs and my siblings and I unraveled even more. Even though we showed up to school as if everything was fine, I now recognize that I was experiencing severe depression and anxiety. By 15 I was pregnant, and when I brought my daughter home at 16, we were living in a condemned house without water, a working bathroom, or safety. Her paternal grandparents eventually took us in, which meant I had stability but at the price of losing daily contact with my siblings. That separation broke me, but it also changed me. I made a promise that my daughter would not live the life I had lived and I would be a different type of example for my siblings. My daughter literally saved my life.
By the grace of God and the Village he sent my way, I went on to graduate high school, college, and graduate school with honors while parenting, working, and completing internships. Earning my BSW, MSW, and ultimately my LCSW with the support of my village became both my education and my healing. Over 20 years later, I’ve served in homes, schools, nursing facilities, community agencies, and as an MFLC for military families. To date, I have supervised nine other aspiring clinicians who have all successfully obtained licensure and are now serving others.
Today, I am a co-owner of C&S Holistic Counseling & Consulting, LLC, an outpatient mental health practice designed to destigmatize mental health treatment especially in the African American community and to treat the whole person, not just the diagnosis. What I am most proud of, above all, is the daughter I had at 16, the baby I once carried into a condemned house, is now 27, thriving, and currently working toward her MSW at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is living proof that cycles can be broken, and the decision to heal is paying your legacy forward!
Today I stand strong woman, proud wife to a loving and super supportive husband, and mother to four other amazing children (two biological, two bonus). My journey started in survival, but it has unfolded into purpose, advocacy, and generational restoration. I stand as proof that God can turn what tried to break you into the very thing that builds you!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What I have learned and accepted is that God’s will does NOT guarantee a smooth ride. So absolutely not! Is that even a thing? My journey has included eight years of college, two years of clinical supervision, therapy, and riding on the waves of a praying grandmother! Life didn’t pause just because I was trying to better myself. I had to face some of the same patterns I grew up around. It wasn’t until I found myself in my own abusive relationship that I truly understood my mother’s struggle and was able to fully forgive and embrace her for not leaving. By the grace of God, my has been drug-free for years and I value her strength and our relationship beyond words.
One of the biggest hits was the abrupt loss of my father just as we had finally started to rebuild our relationship. The last time I saw him was at my undergraduate graduation in 2005. And although, I am so very thankful for the progress we made prior to his death and being able to share such a full circle moment it was absolutely devasting. Anyone who has lost their father can relate that regardless of the relationship, it feels as if your super hero is gone and world is less safe…
So no, it has not been smooth by any stretch….as I said before, I wouldn’t change a letter. Everything I’ve experience has shaped and equipped with the tools I need to show up as my best self today. My journey has taught me empathy, discernment, and a level of strength and resilience you cannot learn from a textbook. I would not erase any part of my story, because it is the reason I can sit across from clients and offer something real, not rehearsed.
My scars are bigger than my credentials because they allow me to serve from a place that is healed, whole, and powerful.
As you know, we’re big fans of C&S Holistic Counseling and Consulting, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
C&S Holistic Counseling & Consulting, LLC was born out of both lived experience and professional conviction. My amazing co-owners and I, built this practice with a clear mission to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health, especially in the African American community, and to replace fear and silence with education, access, and culturally informed care. We believe true healing requires integrated wellness tending to the mind, body, spirit, and environment, not just treating symptoms in a 60 minute session.
We are known for meeting people where they are. Our clinicians don’t just provide therapy, we identify barriers, connect clients with real-life resources, and advocate alongside them when needed. Whether it’s addressing trauma, managing depression and anxiety, navigating grief, supporting couples and families, or helping clients recover from life transitions, our approach is deeply human, relational, and holistic.
What sets us apart is that every therapist on our team is trained not only in evidence-based practice, but also in empathy anchored in lived experience, cultural awareness, and respect. We are committed to both strengthening the community we come from not just serving it.
I am incredibly proud of the brand we’ve built, not just the business itself, but the impact. Since 2020, we have staffed licensed and pre-licensed clinicians, supported hundreds of lives, supervised emerging therapists into licensure, and created a safe space where people can heal without shame. We don’t just talk about destigmatizing mental health — we model it, teach it, and make it accessible.
What I want readers to not only know but absorb is C&S Holistic Counseling exists because we believe that healing is not just possible — it is a right and a journey that does not has to be traveled alone. There is limitless value in your vulnerability and unbelievable strength beyond and even beside your struggle! Our trade mark is our genuine commitment to encouraging, empowering, and equipping our community with the interventions, education, and support needed to reach an optimal level of health and wholeness.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Although I’m not originally from Raleigh, I genuinely love this city. It became the midpoint where my (now) husband and I would meet while we were long-distance, him in South Carolina and me in Virginia. We got to know each other here over food, long drives, walks, and weekends. Even though my husband has since moved to Virginia, Raleigh will forever be a part of my healing journey and I will forever come back because the city represents love, light and hope.
Outside of that personal connection, I love the feel of Raleigh, the college energy, the diversity, the way people speak to you with warmth, the food, the arts, the greenery, the growth… it’s a city that feels alive and welcoming without being overwhelming. It has a way of making you feel like you belong, even if you started as a visitor.
My least is not about the people or the culture. However, as a forever advocate for mental health, it’s about access. Like many growing cities, there are still significant gaps in affordability, mental health access, and resources especially of people of color. There is so much opportunity here, but the goal should always be increasing accessibility as we continue to experience unprecedented times. I am faithful that the city will continue to make stride in this direction.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.csholistic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/csholistic/
- Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/CSHOLISTIC/?view_public_for=106716727637507&_rdc=1&_rdr#
