Yudelka Columna, founder of Healing Road Counseling Services with Hackettstown location, featured by Influential Women
HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (Warren County) — Yudelka Columna, founder and CEO of Healing Road Counseling Services, which has a location on Mountain Court in Hackettstown, has been featured by Influential Women for her work expanding access to culturally sensitive mental health care.
Columna, MSW, LCSW, MBA, C-EMDR, is a licensed clinical social worker, entrepreneur, author, executive coach, motivational speaker and mental health advocate with more than 15 years of experience working with children, adults and families.
She is the founder and CEO of Healing Road Counseling Services, a private counseling practice located in Hackettstown, and founder of Healing Partners Counseling, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to mental health services for disadvantaged communities.
Under Columna’s leadership, Healing Road Counseling Services has grown to a team of 22 providers offering trauma-informed and culturally responsive counseling in Spanish and English.
Columna’s professional experience includes serving as a bilingual family service specialist with the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency, working as a therapist in outpatient settings and providing intensive in-home therapy through the New Jersey Children’s System of Care.
Her clinical approach incorporates mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive and ethical practices. Her work includes assisting people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, trauma, immigration challenges, child abuse and neglect and other difficult life experiences.
Columna began her education in the Dominican Republic, earning a degree in business administration from APEC University in Santo Domingo. After immigrating to the United States, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
She is also the author of Emotional Resilience: Practical Solutions for Overcoming Challenges to Thrive in Life, which provides strategies for navigating adversity and developing emotional resilience. The book, available in English and Spanish, was selected to participate in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California and the London Book Fair.
Columna has received numerous recognitions during her career, including awards for excellence in mental health care and an honorary doctorate from the University of Costa Rica.
Looking ahead, Columna plans to continue growing her organizations, with a goal of expanding services by at least 25% during the next two years and reaching communities beyond New Jersey.
