A Black Therapist in Maryland and DC Who Honors Who You Are
Life Migration Therapy is designed for people of color, adult children of immigrants, and underserved voices navigating the weight of identity, pressure, and past pain. Let’s process it together: on your terms, at your pace, with care that sees all of you.
Virtual sessions with Charika White, LICSW, LCSW-C, serving adults across Washington, DC and Maryland. Accepting new clients.
The world asks so much of you. Therapy shouldn’t.
Whether you’re navigating workplace microaggressions, family pressure as a first- or second-generation adult, or the quiet exhaustion of always being “the strong one,” you deserve a space to exhale.
At Life Migration Therapy, sessions are rooted in cultural understanding and radical care. This isn’t surface-level support or one-size-fits-all advice. This is culturally responsive individual therapy for the parts of you that rarely get the mic. When the tiredness has outlasted every weekend, her guide to therapy for burnout is a grounded place to start.
Read her approach →How we work together.
You deserve care that honors your identity, lived experience, and values, without asking you to explain them. Every path below starts with the same free 15-minute conversation, and the immigration evaluation page has the full detail when documentation is what brings you here.
Individual Therapy
Personalized virtual sessions that center your story, whether you’re managing anxiety, depression, or the stress of constantly code-switching in a world that doesn’t always get you.
Learn more →Immigration Evaluations
Culturally informed psychological evaluations for extreme hardship waivers, asylum cases, and VAWA petitions.
Learn more →ADHD Assessment
Comprehensive adult ADHD evaluations with clinical interviews, behavioral screening, and culturally informed diagnostics.
Learn more →Clinical Supervision
Board-approved clinical supervision for social workers earning licensure hours in DC and Maryland.
Learn more →Consulting & Workshops
Psychological safety consulting, trainings, and speaking for organizations, schools, and community initiatives.
Learn more →Affordable Therapy Options
The Green Bottle fee model and reduced-fee community care spots, because healing shouldn’t be a luxury.
Learn more →What this practice is, and what it isn’t.
- ✓Individual therapy for adults, 18 and over
- ✓100% virtual sessions across DC and Maryland
- ✓Culturally grounded, identity-affirming, trauma-responsive care
- ✓Perspective, psychoeducation, and honest observations
- ✓A space you don’t have to explain yourself from zero
- In-person sessions or an office to visit
- Couples, family, child, or teen therapy
- A place where a therapist tells you what to do
- Somewhere you shrink to be understood
- Medication management or prescriptions
- Crisis or emergency care
You don’t have to carry it all alone.
Whether it’s work stress, family dynamics, or healing after relationship trauma, you don’t have to push through it by yourself. Some of what we work on together:
- Anxiety & depression
- Chronic stress
- Career burnout
- Life transitions
- Attachment wounds
- Intergenerational trauma
- Family dynamics
- ADHD & neurodiversity
- Cultural adjustment
- Racial identity
- LGBTQIA+ affirmation
- Women’s mental health
Sessions draw on cognitive behavioral therapy in Washington, DC and Maryland, acceptance and commitment work, and attachment-based care. Queer and trans clients often start with the LGBTQ therapist in Washington, DC page.
Therapy with me isn’t about fixing you. It’s about coming home to yourself.
What does therapy with Charika cost?
Clear numbers up front, so the focus stays on you, never on surprises.
ADHD Evaluations
$420 Evaluation and feedback session. $570 with the full written summary. Learn moreImmigration Evaluations
$1,000 Hardship waiver, asylum, and VAWA evaluations. Expedited processing +$500. Learn moreConsulting & Speaking
Quote Workshops, trainings, and speaking, tailored to organizations and schools. Get a quoteSelf-pay keeps care private and flexible. Superbills are available for out-of-network reimbursement, and Mentaya can file the paperwork for you. Extended-format work is priced on the therapy intensive page, and organizations can read about psychological safety consulting working with an organizational culture consultant, or bringing in a workplace wellness consultant for staff burnout. View the full fee guide →
Reaching out is often the hardest part.
If you’re here, something in you is ready, even if the rest of you isn’t sure yet. This form goes directly to Charika. She reads what you’ve shared and responds with care.
Charika typically responds within 1 to 2 business days to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation. That call is a conversation about what you need and whether this feels like the right fit. You decide from there.
Prefer to skip the form? Book your free call directly or call or text 301-244-8219.
Therapy that meets you where you are.
Simple, unhurried, and centered around your pace.
Book a free 15-minute call
Let’s make sure it’s the right fit. This no-pressure call helps us get aligned on your needs and how I can support your goals.
Begin with a personalized plan
Whether you’re dealing with stress, trauma, or a life transition, your treatment plan will reflect your identity, history, and healing pace.
Grow at your own rhythm
Sessions are collaborative, culturally affirming, and rooted in trust, so you can unpack, process, and move forward authentically.
Life Migration Therapy clientCharika has completely changed my life!
Reduced-fee therapy for communities in crisis.
Between climate disasters across the Caribbean, ongoing violence in conflict zones, forced migration, and rising costs, trauma isn’t only personal anymore. It’s global. And it’s showing up in our bodies, our relationships, and our ability to simply be.
Global crises & displacement
Climate disasters, war, political instability, and forced migration reshape lives overnight. You don’t have to carry that alone.
Financial hardship
A lost job, a sudden change, money stretched thin. Hardship like that wears on you long before anyone names it.
Migration challenges
Resettlement stress, family separation, and learning new systems take a toll most people never see.
Ongoing discrimination
Racism, xenophobia, religious persecution, community violence. These leave marks, and those marks deserve real care.
This isn’t charity. It’s community care.
I hold limited reduced-fee spots for people directly impacted by crisis, and the practice runs a tiered community fee model. Explore sliding scale therapy in Washington, DC or join the Green Bottle Method waitlist. If you would rather sit with this on your own first, Charika wrote Island Mind, Foreign Ground, a reflective workbook for the Caribbean diaspora. If you’re struggling, mention it during your consultation. We’ll figure it out together.
Therapy with context, care, and culture.
Hi, I’m Charika: a Black woman, a therapist, and someone who believes that healing doesn’t have to mean explaining yourself at every turn. I work with clients navigating layered identities, intergenerational expectations, and the kind of stress that doesn’t always have language, especially for those of us raised in survival mode.
In this space, you don’t have to code-switch, shrink, or wear the mask that society requires of you. I see therapy as a collaborative process rooted in liberation, justice, and self-ownership. Charika White is licensed to provide therapy in both Washington, DC and Maryland.
Let’s make space for your story.
More about Charika →
Google reviewI would highly recommend to anyone seeking great and quality counseling.
Healing looks different for everyone.
What healing has felt like for the people who’ve worked with Charika.
I've struggled to connect with other therapists because I am a 1st generation immigrant but Ms White was able to relate to my story because of her immigrant background and her understanding of the cultural challenges I faced.
Google reviewTo find a queer, Black immigrant therapist is like finding a unicorn. Charika indeed has been that for me and I cherish the moments we have that allow me to bring all of my true self to our sessions.
Life Migration Therapy clientCharika is an exceptional therapist and colleague who brings warmth, insight, and depth to every interaction. She consistently creates spaces where clients and those around her feel truly supported and cared for.
Google review
A safe space for overlooked voices to heal and reclaim their power.
Your most difficult seasons don’t define you, and you don’t have to navigate them alone. Whether you’re managing anxiety, facing burnout, or seeking clarity during a major life transition, therapy is a place to reconnect with your truth and rebuild from a place of strength. Mental health care here is culturally affirming and rooted in compassion, justice, and emotional support for Black men and women, first- and second-generation professionals, and other historically underserved communities. If you’ve been searching for a Black female therapist in DC or an African American therapist in Maryland hoping to find someone who already understands, this space was designed for you. Queer and trans readers across the state can start with the LGBTQ therapist in Maryland page.
Healing here isn’t only personal, it’s relational. Together we’ll build tools to create healthy boundaries, repair trust, and honor your lived experiences. From trauma-responsive care to identity-affirming therapy, this work centers you: your needs, your voice, and your right to feel seen and supported.
Questions, answered.
Starting therapy, especially when you’re carrying layers of culture, identity, and lived experience, can bring up a lot of questions. Here’s clarity on the ones new clients ask most.
Do you offer virtual therapy sessions?
Yes. Every session is secure, HIPAA-compliant virtual therapy for clients across Maryland and Washington, DC. Whether you’re based in Baltimore, Silver Spring, or anywhere in between, you can access support from the comfort of your own space.
What types of therapy do you specialize in?
I specialize in individual therapy, culturally responsive care, immigration psychological evaluations, adult ADHD assessment, and support for first-gen professionals, Black women, and LGBTQ+ clients. Sessions draw on cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and attachment-based approaches, all rooted in anti-oppression work, cultural humility, and trauma-responsive care.
Do you accept insurance or is this self-pay?
Life Migration Therapy is a self-pay practice and does not bill insurance. A superbill is available for possible out-of-network reimbursement, and our Mentaya partnership can handle the claim paperwork for you. Self-pay keeps your care private, flexible, and free of diagnosis requirements.
What are immigration evaluations and how do they work?
Immigration psychological evaluations support your legal case through clinical documentation and assessment. I provide evaluations for extreme hardship waivers, VAWA, and asylum, and I work alongside you and your attorney with compassion, clarity, and professionalism.
How do I know if therapy is right for me?
If you’re carrying stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, or a sense of disconnection from your identity or community, therapy can offer the clarity and tools you need to feel grounded. That’s especially true if you’re navigating intergenerational trauma, racial identity, or career stress.
What is the first step to getting started?
Book a complimentary 15-minute consultation, or send a note through the form on this page. From there we’ll explore your goals, make sure the fit feels right, and map out a plan of care that centers your values, story, and needs.
Start therapy with Charika.
Book a free 15-minute consultation, or call or text when you’re ready. Come exactly as you are.
Here, you are
safe.
