Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecil Wattree.
Hi Cecil, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey began with a deep commitment to healing, both personal and collective. I started my career in mental health because I saw firsthand how systems often failed to meet the cultural and emotional needs of Black individuals, families, and communities. Over time, that realization became the foundation of my purpose: to create spaces where authenticity, cultural understanding, and empowerment could coexist in the healing process.
That mission led me to found Radical Empowerment Services, a practice centered on culturally responsive therapy, trauma-informed care, and community education. Through this work, I’ve been able to integrate clinical practice with social justice, developing programs that address not just symptoms but the social and historical roots of pain; from generational trauma to systemic inequity.
Today, as the Clinical Director of the Community Assistance Council, I’m expanding that vision on a community scale; leading efforts to bridge mental health, social services, and cultural resilience. My doctoral research focuses on healing practices with Black males, integrating traditional therapeutic approaches with culturally grounded frameworks that honor identity, history, and collective recovery.
In short, I got here by following the belief that healing is not just an individual act..it’s a communal, cultural, and historical one. Every step I’ve taken has been guided by that truth.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. The past year has been one of the most disorienting yet clarifying seasons of my life. Resigning from the Kansas City Black Mental Health Initiative was not just a professional shift—it was a moral and spiritual one. I began to recognize how much of that space had become entangled with political interests and performative gestures that ultimately served power structures more than the people we claimed to protect. That realization forced me to confront my own complicity in systems that commodify Black pain and label it as “prevention,” when what our communities truly need is healing, restoration, and self-determination.
At the same time, Allyn’s medical treatments for malignant catatonia reshaped everything I thought I knew about care, endurance, and love. Watching her fight for her life while navigating the dehumanizing edges of the medical system was profoundly humbling. It stripped away any illusion of control I had and reoriented me toward the humanity at the center of this work—how fragile, sacred, and interconnected it all is.
Those two experiences; professional disillusionment and personal crisis, which pushed me into a deeper calling. I began to see that my work couldn’t just be about fitting into institutional frameworks or appeasing funding narratives. I had to become more of a social scientist and radical clinician, someone committed to studying, healing, and transforming the collective psyche of our communities, not just managing the symptoms of systemic harm.
So no, the road hasn’t been smooth. It’s been painful, raw, and full of reckonings. But it’s also been liberating. It taught me that healing and integrity often demand departure; from roles, systems, and identities that no longer align with the truth.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Radical Empowerment Services and the Community Assistance Council work together at the intersection of clinical healing, community empowerment, and systemic change.
Through Radical Empowerment Services, we provide comprehensive mental health care that centers cultural identity, collective healing, and value-based recovery. Our services include individual and family therapy, couples counseling, and specialized care for substance use and addictive behaviors. We also lead an intensive outpatient program focused on mind-body medicine and value-based healing—bridging clinical practice with culturally rooted methods of recovery and resilience.
What sets us apart is our integration of clinical excellence with cultural consciousness. We don’t treat people in isolation—we work with the social, historical, and policy forces that shape mental health in marginalized communities. Our educator support and community education programs extend this mission, helping schools, nonprofits, and local organizations create trauma-informed, culturally responsive systems of care.
At the Community Assistance Council, I lead the clinical direction, ensuring that community-based services are trauma-informed, accessible, and responsive to the real challenges facing families in our city. Together, we are building a model that unites direct clinical care with community resilience, advocacy, and social justice.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that Radical Empowerment Services stands for authentic healing—rooted in cultural truth, professional integrity, and liberation psychology. Our brand represents a movement as much as a practice: we exist to heal trauma, empower families, and rebuild communities from the inside out.
If readers remember one thing about us, it’s this: we believe in radical healing for collective liberation—therapy and community care that honor history, culture, and the full humanity of every person we serve.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Authenticity allows me to stay grounded in my values while building trust and meaningful connections with others. In my work, being authentic helps me approach challenges with integrity, remain open to growth, and model the kind of self-awareness and honesty I encourage in others. It’s the foundation that keeps my purpose clear and my actions aligned with the communities I serve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://radicalempowermentservices.com/our-team/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radicalempowermentkc?igsh=MThqbXdoMGQzYXVpeg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RES.KC.Therapy/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecil-wattree-msw-lcsw-lscsw-b7b7121a5?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Other: https://care.headway.co/providers/cecil-wattree
