Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Nelson.
Hi Patrick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I often say my story really has two beginnings, the life I lived before incarceration and the life I’ve built since coming home. I was just 20 years old when I was removed from society, and I spent the next 23 years in prison. In 2010, at 43 years old, I was released. That gap—those years away—shaped everything about how I see the world and how I move through it today.
While I was incarcerated, I made a decision that changed the trajectory of my life. I committed myself to growth, education, and accountability. I earned my GED, completed college coursework, and became deeply involved in rehabilitative and leadership programs. I also mentored other incarcerated individuals, helping them prepare for reentry while I was preparing for my own.
When I came home in 2010, I was starting over in every sense of the word. I worked multiple jobs just to stabilize my life while learning how to navigate a world that had completely changed. But I stayed committed to growth. I enrolled in college, and over time, I earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornerstone University. I continued pushing forward academically, completing dual master’s degrees in mental health counseling and ministry leadership in 2020.
That year also marked a significant professional milestone. I began working in the counseling field, including roles with Family Outreach Center and the Seeking Safety Program, where I supported youth and families impacted by trauma, substance abuse, and violence. My lived experience became a bridge, allowing me to connect with individuals in a real and transformative way.
In 2021, I was accepted into a doctoral program in psychology at Northcentral University, further deepening my commitment to both education and service. Around this same time, I also formally established Brand Nubians Mental Health Counseling Services, LLC, an organization focused on providing culturally competent mental health services to underserved communities.
Alongside my clinical and academic work, I am also a published author of Dear Niecey: The Letters, a book available on Amazon that reflects my journey, perspective, and commitment to guiding and uplifting the next generation.
Since then, my work has continued to expand. I’ve served in counseling roles within the 17th Circuit Court Juvenile Division, facilitated parenting classes, and worked with at-risk youth in residential and community-based settings. I’ve also had the opportunity to teach and lecture at institutions like Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Aquinas College, and Western Michigan University, helping to train the next generation of counselors.
In addition to my clinical and academic work, I’ve taken on leadership roles in the community, serving on nonprofit boards such as Reach the Forgotten and Sacred Beginnings, both of which focus on supporting individuals impacted by incarceration and human trafficking. Through all of this, my mission has remained the same: to break cycles of trauma, violence, and systemic barriers and to help others see what’s possible for their lives.
Today, I don’t just see my journey as a story of overcoming adversity, but it’s a story of purpose, accountability, and impact. Everything I’ve accomplished since 2010 carries more profound meaning because of where I started. I left society at 20 and returned at 43, but I’ve spent every day since committed to rebuilding my life in a way that creates opportunity, healing, and hope for others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it hasn’t been an easy journey. When I returned home in 2010 after spending 23 years in prison, I wasn’t returning to my old life; I was beginning anew at 43 in a world that had completely transformed.
I had to rebuild everything from the ground up. I worked multiple jobs just to create stability while pursuing my education and trying to move forward with purpose. At the same time, I faced real barriers tied to my past, moments where opportunities didn’t come easy, and I had to consistently prove that I was more than my history.
But beyond the external challenges, the hardest work was internal. It required accountability, healing, and a commitment to becoming a different man than the one who went in at 20. That kind of transformation doesn’t happen overnight.
Looking back, the road wasn’t smooth, but it was necessary. Those challenges built resilience, discipline, and purpose. They shaped my present self and enable me to connect with others in a meaningful way, particularly those who feel overlooked or excluded, because I have personally experienced that journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Brand Nubians Mental Health Counseling Services?
Brand Nubians Mental Health Counseling Services (MHCS) is a community-based organization dedicated to providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed mental health care to youth, families, trauma survivors, and returning citizens. At the core of our work is a simple but powerful belief: people are not broken; people adapt to survive.
We specialize in working with individuals who have experienced complex trauma, systemic inequities, and justice involvement. What sets us apart is our use of the Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM), which helps us understand behavior not as pathology, but as a survival strategy developed in response to real-life experiences. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?” we ask, “What did you have to learn to do to survive?”
This shift in perspective changes everything. It allows us to meet people with compassion rather than judgment and to focus on helping them develop safer, more flexible ways of navigating relationships and life. Our work is deeply rooted in building emotional safety, restoring trust, and supporting long-term healing, rather than focusing solely on short-term behavior change.
We also take a collaborative, community-centered approach. We partner with courts, schools, and local organizations to ensure that individuals, especially youth, are understood within the full context of their experiences. In addition to licensed clinical services, we integrate peer support, bringing lived experience into the healing process and helping bridge the gap between therapy and everyday life.
What I’m most proud of, from a brand perspective, is that we are helping shift the narrative around mental health, especially in underserved communities. We challenge deficit-based thinking and replace it with understanding, cultural awareness, and respect for the resilience people already carry.
Ultimately, what I want readers to know is that Brand Nubians MHCS is about transformation. We help individuals move from survival mode into a place of stability, growth, and purpose. We do that by creating spaces where people feel seen, understood, and supported rather than judged.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’m a pretty transparent person, so there is not much about my story or my work that I try to keep hidden. What might surprise people, though, is how intentional that transparency is. It is not just about being open; it is about creating space for others to feel safe enough to be honest about their own journeys.
A lot of people see the work I do now, but what they may not fully realize is that everything I bring into the room, every conversation and every connection, is rooted in lived experience, growth, and a conscious decision to show up authentically. That transparency is not accidental; it is part of the work.
Pricing:
- 12.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brandnubiansmhcs.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584413828790
