We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Castro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Castro, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for my business was born out of burnout. As a first-gen daughter of Peruvian immigrants and a psychologist in training, I kept running into systems that weren’t built for people like me—especially those of us navigating mental health care while also holding marginalized identities. Every step of my career felt like a choice between being paid fairly or taking care of myself.
When I finally earned my psychologist license, I was proud, but also hit with a hard truth: in order to sustain a livable income, I’d need to see 20–25 clients a week. That workload wasn’t just exhausting—it was unsustainable for me. I realized I didn’t want to just survive in this field. I wanted to thrive!
That’s when I looked around and saw other professionals, especially those who looked like me, carving out their own paths, blending clinical work with creative projects, public speaking, and advocacy. That inspired me. I thought, what if I created something on my own terms? Something that reflected my values and allowed me to show up more fully for my community?
I launched my business with a mission to center Latine mental health and adult ADHD. These are deeply misunderstood and often stigmatized topics in our communities. I knew this work had to go beyond the therapy room—it needed to include education, storytelling, and community building.
Today, I run J.C. Psychological Services and host the Latine ADHD podcast. I get to combine clinical expertise with cultural humility, offering therapy and speaking engagements that reflect who I am and what my community needs. I’m not just solving a problem—I’m creating a space that didn’t exist when I was coming up. That’s what keeps me going.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a bilingual, bicultural Psychologist, Speaker, and Podcaster! I’m the founder of J.C. Psychological Services and host of the Latine ADHD podcast. I specialize in working with adults, especially those from Latine and BIPOC communities—who are navigating ADHD and the pressure of living in systems that weren’t built for them.
My work lives at the intersection of mental health, culture, and storytelling. I specialize in speaking, educating, and advocating around adult ADHD—especially within the Latine and BIPOC communities.
I started my career in traditional therapy spaces, but quickly realized those systems weren’t built to support the kind of impact I wanted to make. I was passionate about reducing stigma, especially around ADHD, but also wanted to connect with people outside the therapy room. That’s when I started expanding into public speaking and launched my podcast as a way to reach more people in an accessible, culturally affirming way.
I’m a speaker who can connect with an audience through authenticity, heart, and a culturally grounded lens. Through my signature talks and workshops, I educate organizations, schools, and communities on topics like:
What Perseverance Really Looks Like—and Why You Already Have It
Unlocking Motivation: 4 Powerful Steps to Energize Teams and Drive Success
Navigating ADHD in the Latine Community: Breaking Barriers and Building Resilience
The Future of Neurodivergent Advocacy: Building Inclusive Spaces for Latine Individuals with ADHD
What makes my work different is that I don’t just bring clinical knowledge I also bring lived experience, cultural humility, and a deep understanding of how systems impact our mental health. I turn complex topics into relatable, empowering conversations that leave people feeling seen and inspired.
I’m most proud of the community that’s grown around the Latine ADHD podcast. It’s a space where we explore mental health in real, honest ways—centering voices that are often left out of these conversations. My mission is to keep breaking down stigma, making mental health education more inclusive, and helping people feel less alone in their journey.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I used to hear messages like “rise and grind” and “hard work pays off.” I lived that—pulling all-nighters, saying “yes” to every opportunity, and measuring my worth by how many tasks I checked off. As a first‑gen Latina in overwhelmingly white colleges, I thought relentless hustle was the only path to success and acceptance.
Then came the final 7th year of my PhD program, or what I THOUGHT would be my final year. I was at my 12‑month internship: six‑day workweeks under a supervisor who was checked out. I felt like I needed to work harder but it felt like no matter what I did it wasn’t enough. Ten months in, just two months left before getting my PhD diploma, I made the gut‑wrenching decision to withdraw—delaying graduation by TWO years because I would have to reapply, interview, and re-do a new 12 month internship.
It felt like hitting rock bottom, but it cracked me open. I realized I’d been equating self‑worth with sacrifice. So I got the help I needed—therapy, medication, and the unwavering support of my community and began setting boundaries and challenging my people-pleasing tendencies. I learned that rest isn’t a weakness, and saying “no” to others is saying “yes” to me.
Fast‑forward to today, I’m Dr. Janice Castro, and that setback became my superpower. Today, I provide therapy for adults with ADHD helping them challenge the hustle culture and work smarter not harder when navigating a society that wasn’t built for neurodivergent folks. My message is simple: your value isn’t tied to your work. It’s in your courage to pause, reflect, and keep moving forward—on your terms. Align your actions with your well‑being and watch how far you’ll go.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Most recently, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey has been a very grounding and impactful book.
Her message—that rest is a form of resistance to grind culture—deeply resonated with me, especially as someone who had to untangle my self-worth from productivity. Hersey reminds us that rest is not a luxury, it’s a human right, especially for those of us from marginalized communities who’ve been taught to constantly prove ourselves. This book helped me slow down with intention, honor my limits, and build a business that centers well-being, not burnout. It affirmed what I now teach others: working smarter means working in alignment with your values, not sacrificing yourself for success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drjanicecastro.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.janicecastro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552779615332
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceelenacastro/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JCPsychologicalServices
- Other: Latine ADHD podcast: https://pod.link/1779575459
