Business Details
Your Trusted Mental Health Therapist in Oakland
Laura M. Castro, PsyD is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience providing compassionate, trauma-informed care to individuals and families. My practice focuses on treating depression, anxiety, trauma exposure, and life transitions through evidence-based approaches like Child-Parent Psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic techniques. I specialize in working with young children (0-6) and their caregivers, utilizing attachment-based models to heal from traumatic experiences. My clinical expertise is enriched by two decades of supervising psychology interns at UCSF and consulting with professional athletic teams, including the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. I prioritize building safe, non-judgmental therapeutic alliances to help patients gain insight into how their past informs their present challenges.My work with diverse populations across medical, community, and sports settings has deepened my ability to address a wide range of clinical needs. I offer culturally responsive care tailored to individual circumstances, including Spanish-language services. My approach combines empathy with practical tools to empower patients to regain functioning in their personal and professional lives. I maintain active involvement in professional development, training clinicians in trauma-informed practices for underserved families. My commitment to holistic mental health extends beyond the office through community engagement and advocacy for accessible care.
Services
Child-Parent Psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Play Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Trauma Counseling
Sports Psychology
Family Therapy
Anxiety Treatment
Depression Treatment
Life Transitions Counseling
Highlights and features
- We have over 20 years of experience in trauma-informed clinical psychology
- Our practice combines Child-Parent Psychotherapy with cognitive behavioral techniques
- We provide culturally responsive care for diverse populations
- Our team includes former mental health consultant for NFL teams
- We offer Spanish-language mental health services
Services
Child-Parent Psychotherapy
Specialized trauma-informed treatment for children ages 0-6 and their caregivers. Utilizes attachment relationships to heal from traumatic events through play-based interventions. Combines evidence-based protocols with cultural sensitivity to address affect dysregulation and attachment disorders in young children.
Sports Psychology
Mental health services tailored for professional athletes and sports teams. Includes performance enhancement strategies, crisis intervention, and life skills training. Addresses unique challenges faced by athletes through confidential counseling and team consultations with NFL organizations.
Trauma Counseling
Comprehensive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic bereavement. Integrates psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral approaches to process traumatic experiences. Specializes in helping clients navigate family conflict, divorce-related trauma, and complex grief.
Family Therapy
Treatment addressing relationship issues and family dynamics across generations. Focuses on improving communication patterns and resolving conflicts related to parenting challenges, adoption, and life transitions. Incorporates systemic approaches to strengthen family bonds.
Depression Treatment
Evidence-based interventions for managing depressive symptoms across the lifespan. Combines insight-oriented therapy with practical coping strategies. Addresses postpartum depression, menopause-related mood changes, and depression associated with major life transitions.
People
Laura M. Castro
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Castro is a licensed clinical psychologist with 20+ years of experience in trauma-informed care. She specializes in child-parent psychotherapy and sports psychology, having worked with NFL teams. She supervises psychology interns at UCSF and trains clinicians in trauma treatment.
Questions
What age groups do you work with?
I treat clients from toddlers (0-6) through adults, with specialized expertise in early childhood mental health and sports psychology for professional athletes.
Do you offer Spanish-language services?
Yes, I provide mental health services in both English and Spanish to better serve diverse communities.
What trauma treatment approaches do you use?
I specialize in Child-Parent Psychotherapy and evidence-based trauma treatments, integrating attachment theory with cognitive behavioral techniques for comprehensive healing.
Do you work with professional athletes?
Yes, I serve as mental health clinician for the San Francisco 49ers and have previously worked with the Oakland Raiders, providing confidential therapy and life skills training.
What are your therapy session formats?
I offer individual therapy, family sessions, and consultation services using relational approaches that combine psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral techniques tailored to each client's needs.
