//November 3, 2022
Dr. LaKeita Carter has big goals — to create a society that supports all those in pursuit of health education and treatment in an effort to thrive and lead a productive, hopeful life.
Her leadership style is future driven, people centered and change oriented, and it was at the forefront when she decided to build a practice from nothing. She started with a single therapist and one patient.
Six years later, iHEAL’s 24-person team treats 350 patients per week and is accredited nationally and with state licensure as an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Mobile Treatment Service, Pyschiatric Rehabilitiation Program – Adult, .5 Early Intervention Program, and DUI Education Program.
“As an African American woman, I use the few areas of privilege that I have to work with and advocate for others,” Carter said. “I truly believe that those who are socially-privileged in any way have the responsibility to help others remove barriers that keep them from being healthy.”
In 2018, Carter obtained board certification as a tele-mental health provider and started helping people in remote areas of Maryland, which helped her pivot the business to telehealth when the pandemic hit. A thought leader on telehealth already, she was planning a professional development workshop on the topic of do’s and don’ts, and offered it for free for 120 providers in April 2020.
Carter specializes in sexual trauma and violence, and also focuses on helping patients work on healthy sexual relationships. She earned her doctor of psychology in clinical psychology from Loyola University Maryland.
Carter serves as a diplomate in rape trauma for the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. She is the vice president of the Black Mental Health Alliance.