Community Trauma

Interim LUL President & CEO, Lyndon Pryor is joined by licensed mental health therapist Elishia Durrett-Johnson of Begin to Talk, LLC. Nicknamed the Community Therapist, Durrett-Johnson is a community partner with the League providing mental health education through A Path Forward. She shares how traumatic events can indirectly and directly affect our well-being and how Black people experience life differently by looking through the lens of trauma. Durrett-Johnson raps about her personal experiences coping with the loss of loved ones and how moving forward looks different. Our duo discusses the contrast between surviving versus living and how we are conditioned to just go. The Community Self-Care Program gives Black people spaces to find rest, process life, and increase their self-care. The 8-week wellness group program is co-led by therapists who guide participants through mental health concepts that can connect to their daily lives. Groups are organized to create homogeneous safe spaces for Black women, Black men, LGBTQ+, high school, and middle school students.