Dr. Anthony Durham, DPA, LCSW
Wellnest
Director of Intensive Services
Ask the Expert: Dr. Anthony Durham
Director of Intensive Services | 7 Years at Wellnest
Wellnest recently launched its Ask the Expert series, spotlighting the dedicated clinicians, social workers and mental health professionals who provide compassionate, trauma-informed care to children, families, and young adults across Los Angeles. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we spoke with Anthony about the barriers many young adults face in accessing adequate mental health support, particularly within Black and Brown communities, and the importance of culturally responsive care.
What do you see as the biggest challenges impacting mental health access and outcomes for young adults today? And how is Wellnest working to break stigma and expand culturally responsive care?
Today’s young adults face significant barriers to mental health care, including fragmented systems, high costs, social stigma, economic stress, isolation, and anxiety tied to broader societal issues. These challenges disproportionately impact Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and marginalized youth who often lack culturally responsive support and trusted access points to care.
At Wellnest, we work to break stigma and expand access by bringing mental health services directly into the community through schools, homes, community spaces, and neighborhood partnerships.
Key approaches include:
• Community & School Outreach: Wellnest partners with dozens of LAUSD schools and hosts events in trusted community spaces like Leimert Park to normalize conversations around mental health and provide early intervention support.
• Culturally Responsive Care: Specialized therapeutic approaches are designed for African, Latin, Asian, Native American, and LGBTQIA+ communities to ensure care reflects lived experiences and cultural realities.
• Bilingual & Accessible Services: Our bilingual Access Program provides no-fee mental health screenings and wraparound family support, including family drop-in centers offering essentials such as diapers, clothing, and community resources.
• Trauma-Informed Training: Staff receive ongoing education around equity, inclusion, bias, racism, and trauma-informed practices to better support vulnerable populations.
• Workplace Wellness & DEI Initiatives: Wellnest partners with organizations such as the USC Race and Equity Center to strengthen culturally grounded workplace wellness strategies, leadership development, cultural fluency, antiBlackness education, and community-building efforts across the organization.
From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges facing mental health professionals serving Black and Brown youth and families, particularly when addressing stigma and building trust in communities?
Mental health professionals serving Black and Brown communities must navigate deep-rooted systemic inequities, historical trauma, and longstanding mistrust of healthcare systems. Many youth and families have experienced unequal treatment, provider bias, or a lack of culturally responsive care, making trust-building essential.
Additional challenges include:
• Underrepresentation of Black and Brown clinicians and providers.
• Cultural narratives that may frame mental health struggles as personal weakness rather than health concerns.
• Ongoing exposure to racial discrimination, community violence, and chronic stress.
• Financial and access barriers that prevent consistent treatment and support.
To bridge these gaps, providers must prioritize community-centered care by integrating services into trusted spaces such as schools, faith communities, and community centers while partnering with local leaders, parent advocates, and peer support networks. Cultural humility, active listening, and understanding the impact of racial trauma are critical to building meaningful relationships and improving outcomes.
Are you seeing any innovative or culturally grounded approaches that are helping reshape mental health care for Black and Brown communities, especially for young adults?
Yes. Across Los Angeles, there is a growing movement toward culturally grounded, community-centered mental health approaches that blend traditional therapy with healing justice, mindfulness, somatic healing, peer support, and holistic wellness practices.
Innovative examples include:
• Grassroots Healing Spaces: Organizations like Black Being and Roots of South Los Angeles Wellness Center are creating safe spaces centered on mindfulness, resilience, and culturally rooted healing practices.
• Liberation-Oriented Networks: Groups like BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective) and Inclusive Therapists are connecting
communities with providers specializing in racial trauma, queer-affirming care, and culturally responsive support.
• Nature & Wellness-Based Support: Community initiatives such as Black Men Hike LA are helping reduce stigma by creating safe spaces for connection, movement, and emotional support outside traditional clinical settings.
• Community Healing Centers: Trauma prevention and wellness centers in South Los Angeles are offering behavioral health services, substance use support, and family strengthening resources tailored to community needs.
These approaches are helping reshape mental health care by making healing feel more accessible, affirming, and connected to culture and community.
How do cultural understanding, lived experience, and language accessibility shape the way Wellnest engages and builds trust with Black and Brown young adults and their families?
At Wellnest, cultural understanding, lived experience, and language accessibility are foundational to how we build trust and strengthen engagement with Black and Brown communities.
We prioritize:
• Culturally Responsive Outreach: Meeting youth and families where they are through schools, neighborhood events, and trusted community settings.
• Specialized Therapeutic Models: Tailoring services to reflect the cultural backgrounds, lived realities, and identities of the individuals and families we serve.
• Representation & Inclusive Leadership: Building a workforce that reflects the diversity of Los Angeles communities and elevating professionals of color into leadership roles.
• Peer & Parent Support: Incorporating parent partners and individuals with lived experience to strengthen relatability, rapport, and trust.
• Trauma-Informed, Holistic Care: Recognizing how systemic racism, immigration stress, community violence, and other environmental factors
impact emotional wellness, while incorporating restorative and culturally familiar healing practices.
• Language Accessibility: Providing bilingual services, no-fee screenings, and trauma-informed resources in both English and Spanish to reduce
communication and access barriers from the very first interaction.
What advice would you offer to the next generation of mental health professionals who are committed to advancing equity, breaking stigma, and supporting youth?
The next generation of mental health professionals has an opportunity to redefine what healing looks like for young people and communities. Meaningful change happens when providers move beyond traditional clinical settings and build authentic relationships within the communities they serve.
Key advice includes:
1. Meet youth where they are by integrating care into schools, community centers, and everyday spaces where young people feel safe and connected.
2. Practice cultural humility by adapting language, interventions, and engagement styles to reflect the lived realities of marginalized communities.
3. Examine personal biases through ongoing self-reflection, mindfulness, and intentional learning.
4. Understand structural inequities and how systemic barriers impact mental health outcomes and access to care.
5. Advocate for change by partnering with community leaders and supporting initiatives that expand mental health access and equity.
6. Commit to lifelong learning through continued training in culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based practices that reduce stigma and strengthen trust.
