About Uche

Clinician, Educator, and Founder of The Returning Place

Uche Okolie, LCSW, a trauma-informed therapist and educator in Los Angeles specializing in integrative wellness, sound healing, and creative restoration.

LCSW CA #100810
LICSW MA #123186

Uche Okolie, LCSW, is a trauma-informed clinician, educator, and speaker whose work sits at the intersection of psychology, creativity, and culture.

Licensed in California and Massachusetts, Uche provides virtual therapy for adults navigating trauma, anxiety, identity, and relational healing. With over a decade of experience in clinical practice and program design, she bridges evidence-based therapy with holistic, community-centered care.

Through The Returning Place, Uche expands mental health beyond the therapy room—integrating sound healing, creative restoration, and collective resilience practices that honor both body and story. She has developed and led trauma-informed training, resilience workshops, and creative wellness programs for institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base Veteran Program, California Conservation Corps, domestic violence agencies, and other healthcare, higher education, and community organizations across California and Massachusetts.

Her approach draws from core modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), while embracing mindfulness, somatic exploration and awareness, and narrative healing. Her programs emphasize trauma awareness, nervous system regulation, and sustainable wellbeing in high-impact environments.

Whether supporting individuals in private therapy, guiding groups through sound, or teaching on trauma and belonging, Uche’s work centers a simple truth: healing is about more than symptoms — it’s about returning to yourself. Her mission: to restore safety to the body and voice to the self.

Explore The Returning Place Offerings

Interested in Therapy?

Please reach out using the form below, or book a consultation using “Book Now.” For Wellness, Corporate, or Speaking inquiries, please visit The Returning Place.

For individuals seeking reconnection, self-trust, and sustainable healing.

My therapeutic work integrates attachment repair, somatic awareness, and narrative reframing to help you understand how trauma, identity, and environment have shaped your nervous system.

Session focus on helping you:

  • Build body awareness and emotional safety

  • Unravel patterns of self abandonment and overfunctioning

  • Develop tools for grounding, grief processing, and authentic self expression

Approaches may include: CBT, DBT, CPT, PE, IFS, EFT informed interventions, somatic tracking, and parts-based reflection.

Available virtually in California and Massachusetts.

Contact

Publications

No Shadow: A Novel

A trauma-informed literary work exploring love, identity, and emotional reclamation. Through non-linear storytelling and psychological depth, No Shadow invites readers into the complexities of suppression, intimacy, and self-return.

Currently under submission for traditional representation and forthcoming publication.

The Wholeness Model: A Framework for Trauma and Identity Reconstruction

An evidence-based, cross-cultural model integrating narrative, somatic, and neurobiological care.

Accepted for internal review and forthcoming submission to the Journal of Traumatology and APA Journal of Family Systems and Health.

Forthcoming publication: 2025

The Ecology of Becoming: Whole-Person Healing in a Fragmented World

A forthcoming essay collection bridging narrative, clinical, and creative lenses — written for practitioners, artists, and seekers.

Project completion: Winter 2025

Reconstructing Identity Through Trauma-Informed Care: A Cross-Cultural Approach

A clinical essay exploring the intersections of trauma, belonging, and post-traumatic growth in marginalized communities.

Proposed for publication in Medical Humanities and Psychology & the Other Review (in progress, 2025).

Testimonials

  • ”My time with Uche was life changing. She was there to guide me through my counseling and provided all the tools (homework, sheets, and advice) to utilize through my healing journey. Uche was attentive, patient, knowledgeable, professional, a great listener and had my best interest at heart.”

    Sheila A.

  • “Uche is a true god send! I was battling with anxiety and codependency issues when we first started our sessions but through her counseling, professional knowledge and experience we were able to decipher why I felt the need to control everything and I learned how to manage and work through my tough days more efficiently. I had given up on therapy until speaking with her!”

    Tiffany J.

  • ”I am so grateful for my work with Uche because it has really helped me sort through many areas of my life and has been a huge part of my healing process. Uche does an excellent job of establishing a great rapport with her clients. She made me feel comfortable immediately and provided me with the tools to a) identify trends in my life b) address some areas that I am really uncomfortable tackling and c) come up with plans (including some CBT) to mitigate my anxiety as well as prevent it. She has been extremely supportive and helpful and I give her so much credit for helping me get in a better headspace. With her help, I’ve been able to get ahead of my anxiety even if the stressors in my life persist. I’m so grateful for her guidance!”

    Anonymous

  • “Uche has a depth of compassion, intuition, guidance, and altruism that has helped me transform years of debilitating trauma and anxiety into power, confidence, and healing. Uche has a profoundly impactful approach that encouraged me to practice kindness, understanding, and forgiveness while engaging in self-reflective work. This type of mindfulness quickly became a daily practice in self-love and exploring the roots of my trauma responses. Uche’s benevolence and strength of conviction with respect to her client’s success are just some of the myriad qualities she possesses that influence the incredible provider she is. Uche has helped me realize my worth and my voice which has translated into healthier and happier relationships in my life.”

    Mayra S.