My name is Chauntay Worsham El, and I am a licensed clinical trauma therapist, certified trauma trainer, and yoga facilitator. As the CEO of Lotus Trauma Care, I am dedicated to promoting post-traumatic resiliency. My journey is a testament to the power of mindset, community, self-love, and knowledge when overcoming adversity.

At Lotus Trauma Care, we provide customized trauma therapy and training services for individuals with histories of childhood trauma and the organizations that support them. With nearly 18 years of experience in domestic violence, child welfare, youth enrichment, outpatient mental health, and substance use, I integrate expressive and body-centered practices to foster healing and resilience.

Dr. Priscilla Mendez, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist who obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Baylor University and her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College. Priscilla works at The Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health in Houston, Texas where she provides trauma- and bereavement-informed therapeutic services to children, adolescents, and families of diverse cultural backgrounds and languages. Priscilla also provides trainings with community organizations, schools, and academic medical centers on topics related to childhood trauma and bereavement, including a focus on youth who have immigrated from Spanish-speaking countries.

Priscilla’s passion and strong commitment to serving marginalized communities, particularly the Latinx community, stems from her own personal experiences as a daughter of Mexican immigrant parents. Throughout her career, Priscilla has sought out opportunities to develop her skills as a bicultural and bilingual psychologist. For example, Priscilla has worked on a volunteer basis to serve Latinx refugees at the US-Mexico border and has presented on topics related to mental health needs among Latinx refugee youth and advocacy for the immigrant community.

Briahna Yuodsnukis (she/her), PhD, is a Queer, generation 2.5 immigrant, multi-ethnic clinical psychologist. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She provides individual therapy to patients across the lifespan, and also provides training and supervision to graduate students in Clinical Psychology PhD Program at UIC. Dr. Yuodsnukis has special interests in trauma, disordered eating, anxiety disorders, and working with individuals with marginalized identities. Much of her work emphasizes the impact of minority stress on mental, social, and physical well-being.

Dr. Yuodsnukis specializes in the use of behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapies. She uses a collaborative and goal-orientated approach so that she and the patient can create a treatment plan that works best for the patient and their goals. She uses concepts and techniques from the following therapies: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and the Unified Protocol (UP). Additionally, Dr. Yuodsnukis is certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for the treatment of trauma-related disorders and PTSD.

She received her PhD in clinical psychology with an emphasis in LGBTQ+ psychology from Palo Alto University. She completed her internship at the Medical College of Georgia/Charlie Norwood VA – Trauma Track and her pediatric fellowship at Lurie Children’s Gender & Sex Development Program. Her clinical training has broadly focused on specialized clinical care for LGBTQ+ folks from a trauma-informed perspective, primarily in healthcare settings with an interdisciplinary team approach.