Experience Change with Melanated Wellness, LLC
Important Message
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we will only be offering remote/telehealth services. We will resume in person appointments once sound medical guidance permits.
“There is no such thing as perfection, we are walking and healing in alignment.”
Erin Nkele
Why Melanated Wellness?
Trust Built through Compassionate Care
Empowerment through Understanding
At Melanated Wellness, we believe in empowering our clients by helping them understand how their unique experiences as people of the global majority shape their worldview and influence their mental health. Recognizing and addressing these nuances is the first step toward healing and empowerment.
Authenticity and Safety
We provide a space where you can be your authentic self, free from the masks often worn for survival in spaces not designed with us in mind. Melanated Wellness is a sanctuary for genuine self-expression and healing.
Culturally Competent Care
Our therapists are not only highly skilled but deeply understand the cultural, social, and systemic factors affecting your mental health. This competence allows for a therapeutic process that respects and integrates your cultural identity, experiences, and values.
Tailored Therapeutic Approaches
Understanding that one size does not fit all, especially in therapy, our therapists are trained in various approaches. This versatility ensures that therapy is tailored to meet your specific needs, fostering a more effective and meaningful therapeutic journey.
Invest in Your Mental Health
Opting for the best therapists at Melanated Wellness is an investment in your mental health and overall well-being. Our therapists are dedicated to providing the highest quality care, ensuring that your investment leads to profound and lasting change.
About Melanated Wellness (and me!)
Our Founder and CEO, Erin Nkele, LCPC, LPC (MD, D.C.) board approved clinical supervisor, specializes in working with adolescents, 16 and older, through adulthood as they navigate their journeys of growth, healing, and development. Though we primarily serve the Black, Neurodiverse, and LGBTQIA communities, The mission of Melanated Wellness places particular emphasis on bringing a melanated perspective to therapy in order to better serve and empower ALL communities. At Melanated Wellness, we value being culturally competent and sensitive, attuned to our client’s challenges, strengths and needs for wellness and community.
Training and clinical expertise at Melanated Wellness is centered upon compassionate treatment for issues related to trauma, anxiety, PTSD, gender and sexual identity, as well as self-esteem. Melanated Wellness takes a person-centered approach, which is central to meeting clients where they are — for constructing purposeful lives, creating meaningful relationships, and progression towards personal empowerment.
Areas of specialization include, but are not limited to: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Informed Care, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing* (EMDR), Mental Health First Aid, and Youth Mental Health First Aid.
Erin Nkele, LCPC is a proud Alumnae of Xavier University of Louisiana graduating as a part of the (Hurricane) “Katrina Class” with her Bachelors in Psychology in 2009.
Erin went on to obtain her Masters in Mental Health Clinical Counseling, graduating in the 1st Cohort at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington, D.C. Campus in 2016.
Erin is also working towards credentials as a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP) and as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional.
Yolanda Gales
Yolanda “ Yoly” Gales, LCPC specializes working with adolescents 12 and up, through adulthood. As a native Washingtonian, Yoly enjoys and has years of experience working within diverse ethnic and cultural communities. She has experience working as a Urgent Care Clinician and as a Counselor within the Washington D.C. and Prince George’s County school system. Yoly’s training and specialization includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Person Centered Care Planning (PCCP), Youth/ Adult Mental Health First Aid, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and Suicide Bereavement Clinician Training. Yoly focuses on working with individuals, couples and families for mental health wellness and personal growth.
Yoly is an alumna of Howard University where she received Bachelor’s in Sociology/ Psychology in 2013. Yoly went on to obtain her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, graduating from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Washington, D.C. in 2017.
Yoly's hobbies include traveling and trying new foods. She is looking forward to working with you here at Melanated Wellness, LLC.
The Melanated Wellness Foundation
The Melanated Wellness Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity located in Montgomery County, Maryland, focused on empowering and enhancing the well-being of underserved adolescents and their families in D.C., MD and VA, by providing free culturally competent mental health therapy, experiences and educational resources. We strive to create a supportive community that promotes mental wellness, resilience, and long-term success through accessible, innovative, and equitable interventions.
Who we strive to serve
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Adolescents from Underrepresented Communities
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Rural communities
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Low-Income Families
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Schools and Community Centers
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Underserved Neighborhoods
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LGBTQIA+ Youth
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Businesses and Organizations
How we serve
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Free or Discounted Remote Therapy Services
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Educational Workshops
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Community Outreach and Engagement Events
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Mental Health Awareness Campaigns
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Advocacy and Policy Engagement
Through these focused actions, The Melanated Wellness Foundation is committed to making a significant impact on the mental health and overall well-being of Maryland's underserved youth and their families. By bringing essential services directly to the community, we ensure that help is available where it is needed most.
Please View Our Services Below to Schedule an Initial Consultation
(now accepting Cigna, Aetna insurance)
