A community-minded visionary, Dr. Marissa Castello believes that natural medicine should be accessible to everyone, regardless of income or geography. Originally from a small desert town in West Texas, she spent her summers at the beach in Florida, so it makes sense that she’s naturally drawn to the ocean and its expansiveness as well as the community spirit of Santa Cruz. “I love the natural beauty that Santa Cruz reveals to us daily.”

Marissa started out with an undergraduate degree in business, but she knew there was a deeper healing that needed to take place at a personal level. She found a macrobiotic community and culinary program while living in Austin, where she studied healing foods from a Taoist perspective. After continuing on to work as a personal chef, she felt the pull to study naturopathic medicine. So she moved to Seattle and spent eight years immersed in a doctoral program at Bastyr University.

By far the most challenging thing she’s experienced, Marissa went through a divorce during her first year of med school. She was forced to dig deep and find an inner strength that she didn’t even know she had in order to navigate the emotional pain, while performing well at school and raising her son. “Close friends, travel and lots of self care helped me through those rough times.”

She says that the skills most vital to her success are compassion, creativity and listening. “The healing dynamic depends on these elements and because of them, my patients are able to shift from a state of dis-ease to one of vitality and wellness.” In order to replenish and keep moving forward, she likes to travel. “I bust out of ruts by getting on a plane and flying to faraway places! I like the expansion that books and travel offer to my spirit and I can then share that inspiration and motivation with others.” She also enjoys the hot tub scene and daily runs on Westcliff.

A self-proclaimed math wiz, Marissa loves crunching numbers—a skill many of us would love to share! One thing that might help is striving to be fierce with fear. “It’s easier said than done but I want to name it, bring it into the light, and let it go.”

Inspired by the great leaders in our world, past and present, she’s excited about the changes happening collectively in our country and also on an individual level. “At the root of the turmoil lies some very real healing. All around us the feminine is rising and with that comes a love for nature and a mission to protect mother earth.” She’s looking forward to further awakening and the blossoming of the collective human consciousness. Amen to that! So please join us in celebrating our woman of the week, Marissa Castello: HER story is OUR story!

Visit her website for more information: doctormarissa.com

Written by our discoverHER blogger: Liz Hodges