Dr. Shaquilla Cooper, DSW, CSA-S, TCM-S, LCSW-S is the Founder, CEO, and Clincal Director of Home Away from Home Therapeutic Center LLC (HAHTC), a trauma-informed mental health practice based in Louisville, Kentucky. With advanced clinical, supervisory, and leadership credentials, Dr. Cooper specializes in delivering culturally responsive, strengths-based care to youth, adults, families, and communities impacted by trauma, systemic inequities, and behavioral health challenges.

Dr. Cooper’s clinical work incorporates evidence-based and trauma-responsive modalities, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)–informed interventions, Motivational Interviewing, person-centered therapy, strengths-based case management, and mindfulness-based and resilience-building approaches. Her practice integrates holistic, relational, and empowerment-focused principles, emphasizing emotional safety, healing, dignity, and overall wellbeing.

She has extensive experience serving children and adolescents, transition-age youth, parents and caregivers, trauma-exposed families, individuals impacted by substance use and recovery, and communities experiencing poverty, grief, violence, racial trauma, and social marginalization. Her work is deeply rooted in West Louisville and other historically underserved communities, advancing equitable access to mental healthcare and community wellness.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Cooper is the Founder and President of Magnolias Hand Incorporated, a grassroots nonprofit organization established in October 2025 to expand community-based healing, mentorship, prevention, and empowerment services beyond the traditional clinical setting. Magnolias Hand Incorporated was created to address persistent gaps in youth mentorship, positive identity development, life-skills education, family support, and community wellness, particularly for Black and Brown youth and families impacted by generational trauma and systemic inequities.

Through Magnolias Hand Incorporated, Dr. Cooper leads and develops trauma-informed mentorship programming, youth development initiatives, prevention and education workshops, family-strengthening supports, community healing events, and leadership development opportunities. The organization emphasizes culturally responsive practice, liberation-focused healing, resilience-building, and pathways toward stability, self-efficacy, and long-term generational wellbeing.

In addition to her organizational leadership, Dr. Cooper has served on multiple advisory boards, contributing to organizational strategy, program development, and equitable service delivery in behavioral health and community-based systems of care. During her doctoral studies, she also helped establish the Doctoral Practice and Research Colloquium, creating a collaborative space for scholar-practitioners to critically engage research, lived experience, and applied leadership to advance justice-centered social work practice.

One of Dr. Cooper’s most meaningful contributions is The Liberation Project, a creative-justice, racial healing, and youth empowerment initiative developed during the height of social unrest following the murders of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee during the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed as a response to collective trauma and injustice in Louisville, the initiative amplified youth voice, protected intellectual ownership, and challenged historical patterns in which Black and Brown creators’ work was exploited or stolen. Through the project, 20 youth participants had their creative work formally copyrighted, reinforcing authorship, creative equity, cultural protection, and early pathways toward generational wealth-building. The Liberation Project intentionally centers liberation, healing, and systems decolonization, supporting young people in reclaiming identity, power, and narrative during a time of profound injustice.

As a clinical supervisor and educator, Dr. Cooper provides advanced supervision for graduate-level social workers and behavioral health interns, supporting competency development in ethical practice, trauma-informed engagement, clinical documentation, recovery-oriented care, and community-based service delivery. She is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of social work professionals through reflective supervision, experiential learning, and professional identity development.

Her professional expertise includes:

Outpatient mental health therapy

Trauma recovery & resilience building

Case management & care coordination

Substance use recovery support

Positive youth development

Family stabilization & reunification

Community-based program design

Behavioral health leadership & advocacy

Dr. Cooper earned her Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker–Supervisor (LCSW-S) with advanced certifications in supervision and targeted case management. Through Home Away from Home Therapeutic Center LLC, Magnolias Hand Incorporated, and her collaborative partnerships, she continues to advance trauma-informed care, community empowerment, and social justice–centered practice across Louisville and beyond.