Alphonso Nathan ’05

Alumni Achievement Award: Community Service

Alphonso Nathan ’05

Alphonso is vice president of Brightside Counseling Services and co-owner of Brightside Medical Associates, LLC. A therapist and author who speaks on Black trauma and healing, he is a celebrated gem in the black and brown mental health community. Alphonso has been featured in numerous publications, podcasts, and interviews. In service to MHS, Alphonso volunteered as a key speaker and facilitator for an alumni mental health virtual program in January 2021. He also participated in focus groups about mental health with other alumni.

Alphonso volunteers and assists in the growth of the Black Men Heal organization, associated with Charlamagne tha God’s Mental Wealth Foundation. “Kings Corner” is a free open discussion forum for black men to express their feelings with licensed mental health professionals. He also continues to work on campaigns with Taraji P. Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, focusing on mental health and Black youth.

Alphonso has been a regular guest commentator on the number-one syndicated morning radio show in Philadelphia, “Rise Grind Morning Show,” featuring Roxy Romeo, Mikey Dreads, and Mother Knows. His pseudonym, “Phonz the Therapist,” is a way for him to connect with his target market and the youth of the black and brown communities. “Representation is the most important step in breaking the stigma of mental health in the black community,” said Alphonso. “I am making mental health ‘cool’ and being the voice of the mental health culture. This generation admires Pop Culture.”

Alphonso is creating a docuseries titled “Healing the Culture,” that will give viewers a “fly-on-the-wall” perspective into a live therapy session with celebrities and tastemakers in the entertainment industry. His YouTube mini-series, “Phonz the Therapist Presents: Search for Self-Care,” features Phonz traveling to various places to interview innovators, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are promoting self-care and healthy living in their own way.