Unique Approach to Mental & Behavioral Health Consulting

Hufsa's services are unmatched

Real World Results

Hufsa has spearheaded 4 programs from the ground-up that are highly successful today. She was instrumental in their program design, development, execution, and training. She also excels at building necessary community partnerships through her creativity, humor, and passion.

Rigorously Researched

With a background in both science and social work, Hufsa ensures her approach is rooted in extensive literary and community-based research methods. She works closely with both decision-makers and the communities they serve to co-create solutions that are evidence-informed and culturally responsive.

Systems Thinking

Hufsa applies systems theory to understand the interconnections between people, programs, and policies. Her approach identifies root causes, not just surface symptoms, and carefully analyzes – and capitalizes on – the ripple effects of change within individuals, groups, and broader communities.

Lived Experience

Hufsa began her journey as a client, where her intellect, drive, and passion quickly caught the attention of field leaders. Recognized for her potential, she advanced from a peer mentor position to serving as the youngest member on several boards and committees, ultimately becoming a program director and licensed therapist.

Hufsa drives change

Orangewood Foundation Youth Development Program

Hufsa began designing impactful programs even before earning her Master's degree. During her internship at Orangewood Foundation, she developed a new youth employment program, after comprehensive research, collaboration, and interviews with the youth. She was able to identify the specific barriers that hindered the success of previous programs. Two years later, she was honored at the graduation ceremony celebrating the first cohort of graduates from the program she helped create.

FEMA Emergency Crisis Counseling Program

In 2021, Hufsa led the implementation of a $3M federally funded Emergency Crisis Intervention Program, supporting over 200,000 residents in Orange County and supervising 68 staff. The program addressed the mental health and wellness crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving a 100% success rate in meeting contractual obligations and becoming the top-performing program among California agencies.

Subject Matter Expert Peer Certification Consultation

Hufsa served as a Subject Matter Expert for California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), ensuring the Peer Support Specialist Certification process met rigorous professional and peer specialist standards. She created certification exam questions and reviewed others to ensure clinical relevance and adherence to evidence-based practices. Recognized for her expertise, she was asked to return to help for another year.

Community Suicide Prevention Initiative Culturally Responsive Training Program

Hufsa spearheaded a groundbreaking program to address rising suicide rates and stigma in ethnic communities who lacked access to culturally-responsive suicide prevention programs. Hufsa partnered with 9 multicultural agencies to conduct Community-Based Participatory Research, co-develop and deliver training curricula tailored to each community. The trainings received over a 98% satisfaction rate and provided suicide prevention services to previously unreached communities, including Cambodian, Hmong, Chinese, and Arab.

I've seen Hufsa speak many times, including public events, standup, Ted Talks, and more. She's an extremely engaging speaker - heartfelt, personable, and hilarious. Hufsa always has insightful coaching feedback, too; I highly recommend her services to anyone looking for a captivating speaker or coach.

Hufsa has an amazing story to tell, and she tells it with a sense of pride. She has an innate ability to get people to open up, and open up we did. It was amazing to hear some of the stories from my own coworkers -- the struggles they've gone through and the humanity that we all share. I'm very glad Hufsa was able to do this for us. She helped us to understand that we are all human and we all struggle. What's important is that we help each other and help ourselves and feel no shame in those actions. Thanks Hufsa. From all of us, we really appreciate it.

Hufsa was very impressive as a virtual keynote speaker, creating multiple points of engagement for the attendees throughout her presentation. Folks were very responsive to this, so much so that our Students for Disability Empowerment group asked to bring her back as their keynote speaker for our virtual affinity graduation celebration this spring. She was genuine, caring, thoughtful, and engaged with the comments from attendees in real time. I would highly recommend booking her as a speaker.

We had Hufsa as a keynote speaker at our Peer Pathways conference in Washington and were blown away...Hufsa was incredible. She came prepared with a high energy, engaging, thoughtful, and passionate presentation. Her enthusiasm for emotional wellness and breaking down stigma is contagious and it's obvious she loves this work and the people she gets to build connections with. I would highly recommend working with Hufsa to anyone trying to put on a great training or event.

Ready to see if Hufsa's unique skillset can help your organization?

Contact Hufsa for a free consultation to discuss your organization’s needs.

Text or call: 951-523-0564
Email: hufsa@mentally-chill.com

Or use the following form:

Behavioral Health Consulting

Hufsa Ahmad, LCSW, is a 2-time TEDx speaker, therapist, consultant, and former scientist. Known for her empathy, connection, and clinical skillset, she has used her comprehensive knowledge and experience to build four groundbreaking programs.