Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Castro.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Laura Castro, and I’m a licensed clinical social worker, trauma therapist, and the founder of Carolina Healing Collective, a virtual therapy practice providing compassionate care to adults across North Carolina.
My journey to this work began in Bogotá, Colombia, where I grew up alongside my parents and younger brother. When I was 12, my mom accepted a teaching job in North Carolina. Within a few weeks, she and I packed our lives into a couple of suitcases and moved to Carrboro. My dad and brother followed a few months later. I spoke only basic English, and starting over in a new country, culture, and school system – while leaving my extended family behind – was both overwhelming and empowering.
Being Colombian is core to who I am. It means warmth, resilience, and a deep sense of community. I grew up in a culture rich in music, tradition, and expressive emotion – where people find strength in relationships, take pride in their heritage, and always make space at the table. At the same time, being Colombian also means holding space for complexity: navigating cultural expectations, mental health stigma, and the internal tug between collectivism and individuality. Those experiences would later become essential in my work as a therapist.
I attended middle and high school in Chapel Hill and eventually went on to study psychology at Elon University. While there, I supported myself by juggling multiple jobs – campus roles during the day and restaurant shifts at night. One evening while serving tables, I met a couple who were out to dinner for the first time since losing their child. That simple moment of presence and vulnerability left a lasting impression on me. Encounters like that – raw, real, and deeply human – have served as reminders that I was on the right path.
College was also the first time I experienced depression and sought out counseling. Starting medication and talking about mental health with my family – who were influenced by cultural stigma – wasn’t easy. But their love for me won out. Even though it was uncomfortable for them at first, they chose to support me in any way they could. That early experience of healing in the face of vulnerability continues to shape how I support clients today, especially those who share similar cultural or familial challenges.
In 2015, I began the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at UNC-Chapel Hill. That chapter of my life was intense. I balanced full-time coursework and a rigorous internship schedule with a 30-hour work week to support myself financially. I worked at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill, where I learned to multitask under pressure – and also met my future husband. It’s hard to put into words how much I learned in graduate school. It taught me how to hold space for both systems and stories, to understand how larger forces impact individual lives, and to carry my responsibility to do this work with compassion, competence, and humility.
By my final semester, my limits were tested. I collapsed on Franklin Street and had a seizure – something doctors attributed to stress. That moment changed me. It taught me to slow down, ask for help, and truly care for myself while learning how to care for others.
After graduation, I completed a two-year post-grad fellowship at NC State’s Counseling Center, where I trained as a generalist and worked with students from all walks of life. Around the same time, my husband and I settled in Raleigh and welcomed JuJu into our family – a rambunctious and affectionate chocolate lab. While he may not have the calm temperament of a therapy dog (according to the trainer who assessed him), he’s the best therapy assistant I could ask for. He’s usually curled up behind me during virtual sessions and occasionally makes appearances on our Instagram (@carolinahealingcollective).
In 2019, I joined the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State as an embedded counselor. Over time, I became Director of Counseling Services – a role I continue to hold and truly love. Working with veterinary students has been an honor. They are brilliant, driven, and deeply compassionate – and under immense pressure. Supporting them has deepened my understanding of burnout, impostor phenomenon, and the emotional toll that caregiving professions can take.
Still, the idea of starting something of my own never left me. After years of dreaming, doubting, and delaying, I finally launched Carolina Healing Collective this spring. It’s a fully virtual therapy practice serving adults across North Carolina. Starting a business while living on one income – my husband recently returned to school and is still job hunting – hasn’t been the easiest or most convenient timing. But it felt right. I was scared, and I didn’t have all the answers, but I took the leap. I’m learning everything from credentialing and billing to marketing and bookkeeping as I go. It’s messy and imperfect – but it’s mine. And I’m doing it, one step at a time.
Being an immigrant and a woman of color in the U.S. has profoundly shaped how I see the world and how I show up in it. It means navigating spaces where I haven’t always felt welcome and learning to take up space even when I’ve been made to feel like I shouldn’t. It means resisting the pressure to shrink myself into someone else’s idea of who I should be, and refusing to be reduced to a stereotype. Over time, I’ve learned to trust my voice – and to help others reclaim theirs, too.
At Carolina Healing Collective, I specialize in healing trauma through EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), supporting people with attachment and relational wounds, and working with healthcare professionals. Since integrating EMDR into my work, I’ve seen clients unlock insight and healing in ways that talk therapy alone sometimes couldn’t reach. EMDR has deepened the work in my practice – especially with clients carrying the weight of generational, racial, or identity-related trauma. It’s reminded me – again and again – that healing doesn’t just happen through thinking; it happens in the body, in the nervous system, and in the relationship between client and therapist.
The word Collective in my practice name honors both the community that has lifted me and the vision I hold for the future. For now, it’s just me (and JuJu), but my hope is to grow into a group practice—one where therapists support each other while offering identity-affirming, trauma-informed care. I believe healing happens in connection – not isolation.
Building this practice has been humbling, life-giving, and deeply personal. And every message of support – from mentors, colleagues, clients, friends, and family – reminds me that even when I feel alone, I’m never actually doing this alone.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to building Carolina Healing Collective has been anything but smooth. There were moments I wasn’t sure I could do it – physically, emotionally, or financially. Years ago, during grad school, I collapsed on Franklin Street and had a seizure brought on by stress. That moment forced me to reevaluate how I was living and what I was expecting of myself. It was a wake-up call that my well-being had to matter, too.
Starting a business while living on one income has brought its own set of challenges. My husband returned to school around the same time I launched the practice, which meant we were figuring out how to stretch every dollar while I invested in things like liability insurance, training, and electronic health records. I didn’t go to business school – I had no roadmap. Everything from setting up my NPI and tax ID to navigating credentialing and marketing was new territory. There were many nights I have felt overwhelmed and unsure.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Carolina Healing Collective?
I provide individual counseling, couple’s counseling and specialized EMDR therapy, virtually, to adults in North Carolina. I founded it with the belief that healing happens in connection – not isolation. As a licensed clinical social worker, trauma therapist, and Latina immigrant, I specialize in helping people heal from trauma, navigate relationship challenges, manage burnout, and reconnect with their sense of self.
My practice is rooted in warmth, cultural humility, and clinical expertise. I work with clients from all backgrounds, but many are first-generation professionals, caregivers, or people of color who’ve been holding it together for everyone else. I use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help clients process painful past experiences—especially those carrying the weight of generational, cultural, or identity-based trauma.
What sets Carolina Healing Collective apart is the intentionally affirming space I create for clients to be their full, messy, brilliant selves. Therapy with me isn’t about perfection—it’s about honesty, healing, and growth. I also provide therapy in both English and Spanish, which allows me to support the mental health needs of the Latinx community in a way that honors language and lived experience.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I really appreciate that Raleigh offers a lot without feeling overwhelming. There’s a nice balance – it’s easy to get around (though parking can be a challenge!), and the city’s close enough to both the beach and the mountains for quick getaways. Being home to NC State and near Duke and UNC means there’s a vibrant community of smart, hardworking people who value research and science, which I love. Raleigh has a strong sense of community, temperate weather, and it’s growing with lots of young professionals bringing energy and fresh ideas. The food scene is pretty good, and compared to other cities, it’s still affordable, which makes it a great place to live and work.
One thing I wish was better is walkability. While the city is growing, many neighborhoods and commercial areas still require driving, which can be inconvenient and limits spontaneous, casual strolls or errands.
Pricing:
- $145 – $215 depending on length (55-90 mins)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolinahealingcollective.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinahealingcollective/
- Other: [email protected]
