Anesis Therapy, the Madison-based mental health practice founded by Myra McNair, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and formally launching its nonprofit arm, the Anesis Foundation, with a fundraising luncheon set for Sept. 18.
McNair started Anesis Therapy in 2016 as a solo private practice. By the end of that first year, she had brought on two additional staff members and landed her first county contract. The practice has since grown into two clinic locations in the Madison area.
“It’s been a beautiful journey,” McNair said in an interview for the 365 Amplified podcast.
Listen to the full interview:
McNair said she launched the practice after identifying a lack of health services for Black and brown communities in Madison and Dane County, including for clients across a range of income levels who weren’t being served by existing providers.
“I really just saw a gap in services in our community for Black and brown people, and for all socioeconomic statuses,” McNair said. “There wasn’t really a place for people to go. When I really realized this is definitely a thing that needs to happen here in Madison and Dane County is when I started even getting clients that were traveling from Janesville to come up and see me, and were paying out of pocket, not even using insurance.”
Cultural competence has remained central to the practice, McNair said, including offering bilingual and bicultural clinicians who work with Spanish-speaking clients.
“There are things like even with just that language — it’s not just, it’s language is important, but also the culture,” McNair said. “So having someone who is also bilingual but bicultural is really important, because you could have someone who’s Spanish speaking and they learn the language in school, but they don’t understand the cultural aspects around that.”
Foundation launch
Anesis Therapy received its 501(c)(3) status for the Anesis Foundation last year and formally launched the nonprofit this year, moving staff and community-focused programs, including free drop-in mental health clinics, some of them held at Mount Zion Church, under the new organization.
McNair said the foundation grew out of a strategic planning process roughly three years ago that made clear the practice’s staff wanted to continue community-based work that isn’t reimbursed by insurance.
“It’s very hard to fund a ton of free work for our community, which we enjoy and we love,” McNair said. “We can’t afford, as a for-profit, to continue to fund all of that work. That is really where it comes from. We’re hoping, as much as we have given to the community, that the community also can give to us to be able to continue that work that we do.”
The foundation’s programs include an in-home mental health program for families involved in the child protective services and youth justice systems, a parenting peer program and a parenting mentoring and education program. Starting in January 2027, the foundation will also provide court-ordered intensive supervision services for youth in the juvenile justice system.
“It’s really great work that’s happening in our foundation,” McNair said.
Anniversary event
The Sept. 18 luncheon will serve as both a celebration of Anesis Therapy’s 10th anniversary and a fundraiser for the Anesis Foundation.
“We are having that luncheon to really announce the foundation, to celebrate 10 years of service to our community,” McNair said. “So it will be a celebration and also a fundraiser.”
Tickets are available at anesistherapycenter.com/events/10-year-anniversary. Those interested in supporting the foundation can also donate or inquire about sponsorship by emailing [email protected].
Looking ahead
McNair said she has watched demand for mental health services grow steadily over the past decade, alongside a gradual lessening of stigma around seeking care, particularly in communities of color.
“The increase in having Black and Brown providers has helped Black and Brown people to get services as well,” McNair said. “It feels safer. It feels like — talking about bringing your authentic self to the therapy room — it just makes a huge difference.”
Looking to the next 10 years, McNair said she’d like to see Anesis Therapy expand beyond Wisconsin, building on clinicians the practice already employs in Milwaukee and a small pilot clinic operating outside the state. She also pointed to the practice’s role training the next generation of therapists, serving as a clinical site for interns from colleges across the Midwest and encouraging its own case managers to pursue master’s degrees and become therapists themselves.
“That has also helped expand the mental health field here in Madison,” McNair said.
