Racism, homophobia, and transphobia make the work at AHP as vital now, as it was forty years ago. In 1984, in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, a group of concerned mental health practitioners founded the AIDS Health Project; their mission was to help AIDS patients and their loved ones who were suffering from the terror, uncertainty, loneliness, and grief associated with this new, devastating disease. The homophobia and AIDS phobia targeting the community in those days increased the despondency for those fighting for their lives and propelled our founders to do everything they could to care for and strengthen those affected.
Throughout the years, including a name and mission change, AHP has grown and expanded to agilely meet the needs of LGBTQ+ community members living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS. As the epidemic has changed, the organization has changed, by building programs and developing services to respond to the changing needs of the community. AHP has been a bedrock of advocacy for clients, the community, and their funders. The Alliance Health Project has a rich and storied history, and they are looking toward their future with purpose and determination. According to Jen Shockey (they/them) Provider Education and Training Manager, “a lot has changed in forty years but LGBTQ+ people face a backlash of conservatism with a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills (over 500 were introduced in the US in 2023. These attacks lead to social stigma, societal discrimination, violence, and psychological distress among our...
The Alliance Health Project staff and leadership team are thrilled to introduce Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo, MD, our newest Medical Director. Dr. Ogbu-Nwbodo is a highly sought-after psychiatrist and activist who embodies wisdom, authenticity, and unwavering advocacy. She possesses a keen knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion while supporting a large community psychiatry clinic, a team of fellows, residents, and post-baccalaureate trainees.
Dr. Ogbu-Nwobodo doesn’t try to fix, manage, or control complicated issues, but gently acknowledges the pain of being immersed in them. She listens attentively, thanks her speakers consistently, and responds brightly with critical theory, a keen sensitivity toward trauma, and optimism for healing.
In the few months that Dr. Ogbu-Nwobodo has served as AHP’s Medical Director, she has exhibited an unwavering commitment to justice and a deep compassion toward the staff and clients. Community Advisory Board member and colleague of Dr. Ogbu-Nwobodo’s, Michelle Porche, EdD, had this to say about her: “Dr. Ogbu-Nwobodo is forging a path for the next generation of psychiatrists, both in her mentoring of post-baccalaureates towards careers in medicine and in her training of psychiatry residents. She is a talented clinician for patients from marginalized communities and a champion for those who have been historically excluded from healthcare professions. Alliance Health Project and its clients are the well-served...
The UCSF Alliance Health Project (AHP) is delighted to welcome William “Will” Hua, PhD as our new agency Director. Will joins Deputy Director Braulio Garcia, LCSW, to complete the organization’s leadership transformation following the 2023 departure of Director Lori Thoemmes. Along with our Management Team, Will and Braulio will be forging the path forward for AHP staff, clients, and volunteers.
Will’s arrival coincides with AHP’s 40th Anniversary and adds to the excitement of this historical moment as we celebrate both the tenacity and resilience of our LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected communities and AHP’s future of strength-based, client-centered health and wellness. As a co-investigator on research and care that focused on HIV, Hepatitis C, chronic pain, opioid use, and alcohol disorders, he is intimately familiar with the range of health concerns that bring clients to AHP for help. Will describes feeling an instant connection to AHP’s mission to support the health and wellness of HIV-affected and LGBTQ communities and noted how moved he feels by the organization's passion, dedication, and commitment to providing the most thoughtful and comprehensive services to our clients.
Before joining AHP, Will served as a clinical health psychologist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs where he held a range of leadership roles including Chair of the Psychology Diversity Committee, Director of a Mental Health HIV/HCV Specialty Care Access Network Clinic; staff lead of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Clinic, and faculty member...
An LGBTQIA+ trauma care study proposed by the UCSF Alliance Health Project (AHP) research team is one of six national studies to secure funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The study will compare the effectiveness of PTSD treatments within sexual and gender minority populations. The PCORI grant will support a five-year study.
High rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among LGBTQ+ people are a known fact. This is often accompanied by other mental health problems and experiences of unique risks such as discrimination and prejudice that may contribute to PTSD. The AHP study will be a long overdue look at which treatments are most helpful for PTSD in our communities. “LGBTQ+ populations tend to be very under-studied,” said Annesa Flentje, PhD, who will lead the study at AHP.
In addition to her work with AHP, Flentje is the Director of the UCSF Center for Sexual & Gender Minority Health and the UCSF Site Director of The PRIDE Study, the first large-scale, long-term national health study of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another sexual or gender minority (LGBTQ+). The term sexual and gender minority (SGM) is used in clinical and research settings as an inclusive and consistent way to refer to our diverse communities. It describes individuals who are minorities related to their sexual orientation or gender, including but not limited to people who identify...
The UCSF Alliance Health Project (AHP) is announcing the retirement of our Director, Lori Thoemmes. After beginning as a mental health crisis consultant in 1995, Thoemmes has been an impressive operational, clinical and community leader of AHP for the past 28 years. Under her capable guidance the organization has expanded its capacity to care for more people in need of mental health, substance use, and HIV-related care in San Francisco. Thoemmes guided the organization through its name and mission change in 2012 and AHP’s annual budget has nearly doubled under her leadership. As an organization dependent on government contracts and grants, she has also graciously interfaced with Federal, State and local leaders, building stellar relationship with our funders and community partners.
Director Thoemmes will leave a significant legacy as a tenacious and engaged doer. Her commitment to the LGBTQ community was honored with the UCSF Chancellor’s Award for LGBTQI Leadership in 2019. A consummate leader, a champion of accessible mental health care, and an unwavering advocate for creating a fair and equitable LGBTQ+ antiracist organization, she will be greatly missed.
While a national search to replace Thoemmes continues, Braulio García, LCSW has been appointed AHP’s new Deputy Director. García’s promotion reflects an expansion in the agency’s leadership structure including the creation of this new position responsible for clinical oversight. While the Director role remains vacant, Braulio will also hold the Interim Director...
Can art heal the spirit and the mind? AHP is excited to take clients on a journey of discovery by offering a creative arts support group that will combine art and harm reduction as a new healing approach.
The first Art and Harm Reduction group is already filled and has a waiting list! “This is a clear indication that our clients are excited to attend the group where they can come together to express themselves creatively in community,“ notes Substance Use Counselor Charlie Dunkin, LCSW, the founder of the group.
This inspiring new program has been a community effort from its inception to the writing of a grant from BAPHR (Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights), designing a curriculum and securing supplies through a gift certificate from Blick Art Supplies. Everyone is eager to see this new group come to life.
Narrative Therapy as a Foundation for Art Techniques
Art therapists can channel maladaptive or dangerous instincts into creative products that allow clients to communicate and work through difficult thoughts and complex emotions.
“Art therapy can influence a range of human functioning, we find, including self-perception and interpersonal interactions. Even a 45-minute creative activity can change a person’s mental state.” American...