Collective Care Center


Overview

The Collective Care Center (CCC) Racial Trauma Clinic is one of very few racial trauma clinics in the entire US. It is the mission of the CCC to be the premier clinic in the areas of evidence based racial trauma therapy and assessment across the life span for BIPOC individuals, racial trauma community education, and comprehensive clinical training for racial trauma therapy and assessment.shaking hands

The CCC provides free individual, family and group therapy rooted in an evidence-based manualized treatment model (The Kniffley Racial Trauma Therapy Model, KRTT2 TM). In addition to the CCC’s in-house clinic at Spalding University, the CCC provides racial trauma and assessment services at satellite sites throughout the city of Louisville including an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) college counseling center, a community center that serves Louisville’s refugee and immigrant population, a Latinx serving community center, and an Afrocentric family center. The CCC annually provides clinical services to 100 BIPOC individuals each year and has trained 1,000 clinicians in racial trauma therapy and assessment nationally and internationally.

Therapy and Assessment Services

Persons of color experience racial trauma due to consistent exposure to racism or discrimination. This exposure can lead to feelings such as sadness, anxiety, worry, anger, frustration, and hopelessness. Additionally, persons of color can become stressed and worried because they feel that they can’t control or respond to racism and discrimination in ways that feel helpful to them and will keep them and the people they care about safe.  The experience of these feelings can contribute to difficulties in relationships with friends and families, challenges on the job, and a general lack of mental wellness.

Here at the Collective Care Center (CCC) we believe that persons of color can experience a reduction in the negative effects  of racial trauma through three main steps: (1) developing racial identity, (2) processing experiences of racial trauma, and (3) building and practicing skills for future racially traumatic events. The CCC offers racial trauma therapy services across the lifespan including individual, family, and group therapy as well as racial trauma informed psychological assessment.

Racial Trauma Therapy and Assessment Training

The Kniffley Racial Trauma Therapy Model (KRTTM) training program addresses three areas important to supporting BIPOC individuals who have experienced race-related stress and trauma: (1) content knowledge concerning the physiological, psychological, and relational impact of race-related stress and trauma, (2) the utilization of evidence-based assessment tools for racial identity development, quantifying discriminatory experiences, and determining the physical and emotional impact of racially stressful events, and (3) the application of culturally relevant therapeutic techniques rooted in racial identity exploration/development, racial trauma processing, and skill development. Two virtual self-paced training programs are offered including an Adult/Teen Racial Trauma Therapy module and a Youth Racial Trauma Therapy module

Community Education Opportunities

The Collective Care Center is committed to increasing access to information concerning: (1) Defining Racial Trauma, (2) Understanding the Impact of Racial Trauma, (3) How to get help for Racial Trauma, and (4) How to help others get help for Racial Trauma.
The CCC conducts a number of local, national, and international presentations each year to equip BIPOC individuals and BIPOC serving organizations with the knowledge and skill needed to reduce the impact of racial trauma. We offer a free virtual self-paced  Youth Racial Trauma First Aid Training. We would be happy to support your organization with a racial trauma presentation or training!

 


Director, Collective Care Center

Lucille Gardner, PsyD

Dr. Gardner is an alumna of Rutgers University where she studied psychology and music. She earned a MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Indiana State University, and a MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Spalding University. She completed her internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her postdoctoral fellowship within Student Wellness at The University of Chicago. Dr. Gardner is an integrationist. She believes in the nature of collective healing and the value of being grounded in both identity and community. Thus, her approach to therapy (thinking about, teaching about, and doing) is collaborative, contextually informed, trauma informed, justice oriented, affirmative, and prioritizes liberation. She seeks to center those marginalized by systems that have far long deferred fault. Dr. Gardner works to reconcile the relationship between evidence and practice for oppressed people as she establishes her place in the field of psychology through clinical work, leadership, and in the classroom.

CCC Student Clinicians

​Adorya Baly

I grew up in the Virgin Islands. I hail from a place where mental illness is stigmatized, though it affects us all. I desire to become a psychologist to serve minority populations and assist with policy-making since one’s mental health is just as important as their physical health. My aim is to serve others by advocating and helping them cope with mental health challenges. I’m excited about providing services to individuals who have roots beyond America, and I’m looking forward to serving individuals who have had restricted access to mental health care. I’m hoping to learn more about Dr. Kniffley’s Racial Trauma Model and how it applies and helps to meet the needs of each individual. I would describe myself as adventurous. I love Top Golf, hiking, dining out, traveling, pageantry, and watching Netflix. I love spending time with my family and friends as well.

David Davis

I grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. Many people hope to “change the world” in one way or another. I have a similar ambition, but with a different perspective. Each of the people that I work with is an individual that has lived a life full of unique experiences; therefore, I believe the best way to “change the world” is to have a positive and healing impact on the individual “worlds” of each person with whom I will work.” I am most excited to contribute an optimistic mindset, the ambition to grow and develop in the field of psychology, and my previous experience with assessment/therapy for children, adolescents, and families.
 In my free time, I enjoy playing and watching various sports, practicing martial arts, outdoor recreation, and spending quality time with friends.
 

Akira Isaac

I grew up on the beautiful twin island of Trinidad and Tobago! I want to be a psychologist because I am passionate about mental health, research, and working with children and adolescents. I hope to foster healing and growth by creating safe spaces where children and their parents/caregivers feel respected, heard and understood. I am eager to serve, connect with, educate and learn from the BIPOC community in Louisville through the CCC. I enjoy brunch, baking, arts and crafts (e.g., painting, basket-making), video calls with my nephews and sharing time with my loved ones.

 

Yancy Nesbitt

I grew up in Hampton, Virginia. Black mental health is an area I’m passionate about. As a clinician in training, I’m interested in providing therapeutic services for the members of the Black community. I’m excited to use this last year of practicum to integrate the skills I’ve acquired throughout my training. During my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, reading, and going to pilates classes.