Cohoba is a BIPOC-led 501c3 nonprofit, structured as a community therapy center.
Laura Camilo, MSW, LCSW, is a Dominican-American clinical social worker dedicated to using creativity and critical thinking to advance collective liberation. Laura received her bachelor’s in Latin American Studies from UNC Charlotte and immersed herself in support of the immigrant rights movement. She has served Charlotte’s undocumented community at multiple local organizations. She also obtained an English minor and was able to connect with local media outlets and work as a freelance writer. Laura’s experiences crafting safe spaces for people to share their stories shaped her belief in the power of mental health support as a form of social justice. She returned to UNC Charlotte for her Master of Social Work and completed her research capstone in psychedelic-assisted therapy and potential applications for Charlotte’s Latinx communities. In August 2021, she completed the MAPS MDMA Therapy training. Laura co-founded Cohoba to build a system in which community mental health, social justice, and the healing arts exist as one.
Daniel De La Cruz, MSW, LCSW is a compassionate and dedicated bilingual clinical social worker experienced in working with marginalized populations. Among his areas of expertise are individuals who are struggling with issues of functionality, relationships, identity, self-esteem, and other manifestations of life challenges. He has a focus on multicultural populations and individuals who are seeking a space to integrate their transpersonal experiences. Daniel demonstrates effectiveness with culturally diverse groups with a proven ability to create and maintain strong relationships with colleagues and community partners. Daniel provides an environment of compassion and support to help individuals and families overcome obstacles to move forward and discover new life truths.
Naomi De La Cruz Spencer, MSW, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker providing individual therapy. She has experience working with teens and adults experiencing depression, grief, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, low self-esteem, codependency, and relationship issues. She has a particular interest in multicultural populations, is fluent in French, has a base in Japanese, and holds an understanding of Asian American cross-cultural identity. Naomi began her training in refugee resettlement, treating trauma in the refugee community, before providing therapy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault at a local non-profit. Now she owns her own private practice, Kintsugi Counseling PLLC, named after the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken and rebuilt. She has joined with Cohoba to collaborate on and pursue innovative healing practices.
Naomi builds off of each person’s unique strengths, gifts, and relationships to help them overcome life’s hurdles. She creates safe environments for individuals to use their inner ability to heal. She enjoys integrating talk therapy with meditation, and breathe-work to tap into an individual’s intuition and inner knowing. She is a Charlotte native, received her Bachelor of International Studies from UNC-Asheville and her Master of Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Rykia Clark (@rcnclmbt ) is a licensed massage therapist who understands the barriers of judgement that have hindered many from seeking massage. She is interested in changing the attitude surrounding bodywork as a luxury for the few and transforming it into an integrative, holistic healthcare practice that is accessible to all. A recent graduate of Southeastern College, she strives to be less of a healer for her clients and more of a facilitator of their personal healing process. She provides an atmosphere of safety, trust, and respect. Rykia recognizes that trauma and emotional stressors are stored in the body and manifest in many ways, including chronic pain or illness, and believes that when the body is treated as a whole rather than a piece of the whole, a person is provided the opportunity for awareness, healing, and personal empowerment.
She is excited to apply her spiritual awareness, her beliefs regarding social and economic justice, and her ideas of personal integrity as she works alongside her fellow Cohoba staff and assists in the integration process by providing mindful, intentional, client-centered massage.
Claudio Ortiz is a clinical massage therapist and has been educating and empowering his clients on their individual journeys in wellness for a decade. Claudio graduated from UNC Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and continues to study within the fields of neuromuscular and therapeutic modalities. Claudio has also been active in the music and arts community as a musician and organizer, building the alternative, indie-latinx scene in Charlotte, and he is a founding member of Fair Play Music Equity Initiative. He strongly believes in the therapeutic and community-building qualities of the arts and is constantly thinking of ways to combine his two healing practices of massage and sound.