Jacqui Johnson, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, PMH-C

Founder of Sankofa Healing Studio

Social-Justice Art Therapist who specializes in trauma-specific treatment within marginalized communities using a holistic approach. Jacqui integrates art, story-telling, hip-hop, parts of self, and body awareness, using EMDR and Brainspotting, to create healing-centered spaces. Jacqui meets people where they are and walks with them to where they dream using strength-based interventions and affirmations to foster healing and change. Jacqui provides Consultation to newly trained EMDR and Brainspotting clinicians seeking certification and is a training facilitator for EMDR in Color.

*Art Therapy, Play Therapy, Hip-Hop Therapy, EMDR & Brainspotting*

Looking beyond the adage that hurt people hurt others, Jacqui passionately believes that healed people have the power and desire to heal entire communities. Fueled by her passion and dedication as a change agent, Jacqui uses community activism/artivism to disrupt the cycles of social injustices and challenge individuals and organizations to become love-centered and anti-oppressive. She provides local and national training workshops on the importance of gender-responsiveness and trauma-specific care within the legal system. She facilitates trauma/resiliency workshops in the community that addresses racial, inter-generational, and community trauma. Jacqui believes that to eradicate myths related to mental health in the Black community, we must first name it and then replace it with culturally relevant services. She addresses head-on the complex intersectionality of adverse childhood experiences, race, and the criminal justice system.

This belief is what led her to work with people within the criminal justice system. Jacqui developed and facilitates trauma-responsive art therapy groups at Riverside Correctional Facility, the Philadelphia county jail for women and incarcerated girls. The art therapy group addresses the unique challenges that women and girls with trauma, compounded by incarceration, face. Some of the topics include the process of trauma, power and abuse, grounding and self-soothing skills, and healthy relationships. She believes that reclaiming our past, provides us with valuable knowledge to protect our future, while understanding and shifting our present condition.

In partnership with I'm FREE (Females Reentering Empowering Each Other), Jacqui also co-facilitates a trauma-informed and gender-responsive empowerment training that offers guidance for women prior to and immediately upon release from the prison system.

Cierra Wright-Lee, MA, NCC, LAC

I am a Mental and Behavioral Health Therapist specializing in working with children, adolescents, and families who have or are currently experiencing trauma. I use an integrative approach and believe in meeting people where they are to facilitate the healing process. People innately have the tools to heal themselves - I merely offer support using strength-based approaches to foster healing and change.

I facilitate group therapy workshops for adolescents and college students on topics including emotional intelligence, and the impact that trauma and adverse childhood experiences have on development and transitioning into adulthood. I also facilitate workshops with other educators addressing their struggles with managing and advocating for youth mental health in educational spaces. I am a mentor, educator, and strong advocate for representation in the therapy room. I believe that in order to shift the narrative around Black mental health it must be addressed directly and managed by professionals within the Black community.

*EMDR*

Ashley Childs, BA, Temple University Clinical Counseling Intern

I am a 2020 Hampton University graduate, from Silver Spring Maryland. I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Psychology and I am currently pursuing my Master’s in Counseling Psychology at Temple University. I am a certified yoga instructor. I am strongly passionate about improving the holistic health of the African American community as it relates to healing trauma. I am currently interested in how transgenerational trauma relates as well as what it may look like regarding somatic therapy. I love to read and write during my free time and I have an appreciation for the healing properties of yoga, meditation, and a plant-based way of living.

*Yoga, EMDR & Brainspotting*

Shadiya Battle, BA, Temple University Clinical Counseling Intern

I graduated from the illustrious North Carolina A&T State University in 2020 with my Bachelor’s in Psychology. I relocated from Charlotte, NC to pursue a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Temple University. While participating in a multitude of community service events and focusing on encouraging adolescents in becoming their best selves, I have developed a passion for being an advocate for children. I am driven to create spaces for the African American community to heal from intergenerational trauma. I support people in navigating through their experiences. In my free time, I enjoy indulging in creative hobbies such as painting, editing videos, learning new hairstyles, and I am currently learning the techniques of nail design.

*EMDR & Brainspotting*

Selina Stanford, BA, Temple University Clinical Counseling Intern

I am a graduate of Temple University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise and Movement. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Temple as well. I am a huge proponent of all things wellness. I have a deeply rooted love for my community and the mental health of Black people. It is my goal to assist the community to a clearer headspace and a prosperous future with their mental health.

*EMDR & Brainspotting*