Sankofa Family Counseling

From Surviving to Thriving...One Family at a Time

F.A.I.T.H

The Family and Intergenerational Therapy for Healing Project

Certified. Knowledgeable. Compassionate.

Sankofa Family Counseling Services provides counseling to individuals, families, and children in the Western New York area. We specialize in trauma focused, culturally responsive care delivered on an individual, family, and community level. We are committed to providing effective, compassionate, culturally responsive services to improve the lives of our clients, and the spirit of our community.

Sankofa is derived from the Akan people of West Africa meaning “go back into the past and reclaim what has been forgotten in order to move forward in the present and future.” A therapeutic journey with Sankofa will ask you to venturing into one’s past to heal and grow in the present and the future. We help individuals and families heal from generational trauma. We are committed to making our community more beautiful than it was when we inherited it.

Our Staff

OUR STAFF

Meet our dedicated staff of trained professionals ready to walk with you.

Meet The Team

MISSION

Our mission is to provide effective,compassionate, and culturally responsive mental health services to improve the lives of our clients, and the spirit of our community.

VISION

Sankofa is committed to creating communities where historically under-resourced people of color can easily access high quality, culturally sensitive mental health care with no barriers. Our goal is to have an intergenerational impact that results in families and communities that are resilient, renewed, and restored for years to come.

OUR VALUES

Empathy At Sankofa we believe that empathy helps to connect us with the experiences of those we serve. Empathy is about sitting with someone during their emotional suffering, bearing witness, creating space, and identifying with one’s emotional experience.

Humility In order for us to truly engage with the people we serve, we must humble ourselves to their journey and experiences. We believe that our clients are the authors, and experts of their own stories and provide them with the leadership needed to facilitate this process.

Inclusion Sankofa strives to be an inclusive space for all people across the African diaspora. Our program is intentional about providing inclusivity to the LGBTQ Black community

Integrity To act in the best interest of the people and communities we serve. We act in a manner that represents good morals, including honesty, accountability, responsibility, and transparency. We believe that the modeling integrity serves as an example to the clients and community in which we serve.

Ubuntu “I am because we are.” We strongly believe that our existence as individuals is defined by the families, communities, and societies in which we are a part of. We strive to move beyond the needs of the individual, fostering awareness of, and connection to others as a tool for healing and sustainment of wellness.

Social Justice Social Justice-We believe that all people deserve access to high quality health care services, education, housing, and all of the social opportunities our society has to offer. We strive to build these bridges for those we serve.

MISSION

services

SERVICES

Sankofa Family Counseling Services offers flexible scheduling including evenings and Saturday hours.

Click below to view our service options.

Therapy for Adults

Sankofa Counseling provides individual and couple’s therapy to adults 18 and older. We deal with a variety of issues ranging from depression and anxiety, to mental health counseling for more severe mental health issues. Some of our specialties include EMDR (trauma processing), Emotionally Focused Couple’s Counseling, Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We are a culturally sensitive practice; our therapists have special training and interests in providing culturally sensitive care. We are also a Queer friendly practice.
Family Therapy

Therapy is provided to families looking to improve communication, connection, and overall functioning. We will observe the history of dysfunction, assisting families to develop healthier relational dynamics and bonds. Family therapy will typically consist of a mix of individual and joint family sessions. We specialize in assisting families going through divorce and complex custody issues.
Therapy for Children & Teens

We provide counseling for children and teens ages 3-18. We work with children and teens with depression and mood disorders, ADHD, divorce or parental separation, and trauma. Play and artistic expression is a pivotal intervention in our work with younger children. Often times children do not have the ability to verbally express complex thought and emotion, therefore play and art is a pathway for the therapist to communicate and guide the child through a healing process. Parents and caregivers are an important part of the therapeutic process and will be expected to engage in joint and sometimes individual sessions with the therapist.