There's something about finding a place where you can show up just as you are. A place where you don't have to have it all figured out, where you are seen as a whole person, and where you can begin to untangle the things you've been carrying.
That's the kind of space we've always wanted FreeFly Counseling and Welness to be.
If you're new here, you might be wondering who we are, what makes us different, and what happens behind the doors of FreeFly. We'd love to give you a little glimpse into the people, the friendship, and the heart behind what we've built.
W'e’re passionate about creating a safe haven for hurting souls. We do this by cultivating cozy therapy spaces in our Raleigh counseling practice and working with therapists who are real. Here, you won't find blank stares or one-size-fits-all approaches. Therapy happens with a real person: imperfect people with stories of their own, who have walked through the work of healing and are continuing to grow every day. We believe that every individual we encounter was created for a purpose, has a unique identity, experiences, and needs, and deserves to be treated as such. Never just another case.
For Alana, becoming a therapist began with a moment of surrender at a crossroads in her own life. Through that season of pain, she began to recognize that perhaps God's plans for her looked much different than how she thought her life should look. Along the way, she discovered her own sense of identity and purpose and developed a passion for helping others release what has been locked up inside.
Lauren's journey looked a bit different. After deciding to follow Christ at a young age, her path unfolded through a series of yeses over the years. She was inspired to help others after experiencing her own counseling journey and seeing the impact it had on her life. Her calling to be a counselor is rooted in Isaiah 61, and she is passionate about seeing people walk in freedom and wholeness.
As you know, our stories are never linear, and we both found ourselves lost at some point along the way. The amazing thing is that God has brought us to this place, here and now, and filled us with a passion to help others heal, just as we have experienced healing ourselves.
Lauren and Alana first connected in graduate school, became best friends practically overnight, and have cultivated a friendship that often inspires others to believe that deep connection is actually possible. It feels a little funny to put that in writing, but it's the feedback we've heard from women who have attended our retreats and witnessed firsthand how real we are and how well we support and love each other.
It was a shared vision for holistic wellness and a passion for saying yes to what God has for us that brought us together. After several years of running our own practices in different cities, Lauren felt called to move to Raleigh, where FreeFly Counseling and Wellness, PLLC, was born.
Over the last three years, we have grown beyond simply offering counseling in our offices to hosting powerful, life-changing wellness retreats for women twice a year. We just finished our seventh retreat! So far, these retreats have all taken place along the East Coast beaches, but next year we will expand into Colorado, and we are exploring a future opportunity in Hawaii. We are also now hosting quarterly gatherings for therapists to come together, slow down, find camaraderie, and experience some much-needed refreshment.
We believe in the work we do, and we believe it's not just for others. At FreeFly, we believe in doing our own work, too. You'll often find us trying new healthy recipes, lifting weights in the gym, taking mindful walks, exploring our creativity, and yes, scrolling when we probably shouldn't be. We are not perfect, and we don't aim to make you think we are.
We are just two girls who said yes to God, found an incredible friendship, and built a business around saying yes to all that He has for us. In doing so, we hope to impact the community around us through changed lives, healed trauma, therapists who are better equipped to avoid burnout, and the ripple effect of healthier individuals and families engaging in their lives in new ways.
Whether you are looking for a therapist near Raleigh, curious about our women’s wellness retreats, a Christian therapist looking for community, or simply exploring what wellness could look like in your own life, we'd love to connect.
We're glad you're here.
