Khadijah Tillman aims to empower communities, remove mental health care barriers

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For the last eight years, Khadijah Tillman has been removing barriers to mental health care and offering culturally responsive mental health services that are crucially needed in Western New York.

Although Tillman’s business, Sankofa Family Counseling Services, was officially founded in 2019, she first began her mission to meet the needs of the Black and brown communities in 2014 as a solo practitioner. Throughout her journey, she has remained dedicated to the pursuit of a more beautiful, inclusive and empathetic world, and has taken every step with that goal in mind. These are values that she has carried with her since childhood and are ones that she ensures are represented in her practice.

Sankofa, located at 1400 Portland Ave., offers counseling services that take into consideration the impact of cultural factors on mental health, including addressing the effects of generational trauma. Tillman said therapy with a generational trauma lens allows people to explore their own histories and relationships with their families, which is necessary to break generational trauma and bring forward what is good. This sometimes means having up to four generations in the same room to begin the healing process.

“Sankofa is a phrase that comes from the Akan people of West Africa that means to go back and get it. So, to bring from the past what is good and bring it into the present to help us be stronger, more resilient and good,” Tillman said. “Our services are always family focused, trauma informed and culturally responsive.”

By providing support that is tailored to the unique needs and experiences of individuals from diverse backgrounds, Tillman and her team build trust and establish therapeutic relationships.

“I try to service what the community is asking for,” she said.

Although Sankofa is still a private practice, which historically is not accessible to lower income families, Tillman said they are committed to servicing everyone.

“We bill Medicaid and Medicare insurances to ensure all people in our community have access to our high-quality mental health services,” she said.

Since opening, Sankofa has served over 1,000 clients.

Tillman originally planned to practice law, but her intention has always been to help and give back to her community. While earning her undergraduate degree, Tillman realized that becoming a social worker was a more appropriate path to address poverty, gun violence and substance abuse.

Since then, her primary focus has been on clinical mental health work. However, once she began practicing counseling in Rochester, she quickly realized that the systems in place did not serve the Black and brown communities. It was difficult to retain Black and brown clients, in part due to systemic racism impacting their care, as well as a lack of therapists that reflected the community they served.

Starting her own practice with the explicit aim of addressing the barriers the Black and brown communities face was the most efficient way to make the changes she knew were needed. Once started, the demand for the responsive care she offered grew quickly. 

In 2017, she began adding clinicians to her practice. In August of 2022, she opened a second location on Tremont Street to service both halves of Rochester more easily, while simultaneously expanding her group therapy services. Sankofa recently completed a support group for mothers and will be offering additional parent support groups this fall at The Hub 585. In June, Tillman is starting a teen anxiety office at the Tremont Street location.

“The community’s response has been great, wonderful, humbling and bigger than I could ever imagine. Sankofa is beyond me, bigger than me,” Tillman said.

If you or a loved one need mental health services, visit Sankofa’s website at www.sankofafamilycounseling.com to learn more and schedule an appointment.

Mariah Johnson is an account manager at LaLew Public Relations. 

LáLew Public Relations, LLC is partnering with the RBJ on a monthly feature spotlighting Black and brown businesses. To suggest a business, please visit www.lalewpr.com and click on submit your story.