Ken Huey 0:00

Welcome to The Voice of Hope, where bold leaders and healers share how they're building hope, not just talking about it. I'm Dr. Ken Huey. Let's meet the changemakers transforming lives from the therapy room to the boardroom. Today's guest is Phyllis Leverett. She's a behavioral health program manager at Fulton County BHD and owner of Leverett Counseling and Consulting. She's a licensed professional counselor, former behavioral health surveyor for the Joint Commission, tough work, and a dedicated advocate committed to improving quality, compliance, and client care across behavioral health care systems while empowering individuals to rediscover their worth. Phyllis, thank you so much for being with us.

Phyllis Leverett 0:44

Thank you for having me.

Ken Huey 0:46

Yeah. So we've told you a little bit about questions that we're going to ask. One that I like to ask kind of off the cuff, pretty easy, is what's your why? Why do you do this? What brought you to this field?

Phyllis Leverett 0:57

Well, honestly, I initially wanted to be a nurse. It is always about care. So I wanted to be a nurse, but after I did my first clinical, I knew that wasn't for me. So since I was already a double major, I stuck with psychology. For me, I really want to know about what is visible on the surface, is not necessarily what is underneath. So behavior alone has never been enough for me. I want to know about the underlying drivers, the experiences, the patterns, motivations, systems, how people think and feel and respond. I don't want to just see what is happening. I want to understand why it's happening. So, yes, that's psychology of us my calling.

Ken Huey 1:37

All right. There's a behavioral health program manager. How do you balance leadership responsibilities with client-centered care?

Phyllis Leverett 1:46

Wow, good question. Well, for me, I believe quality care begins with clinicians that feel supported. When people that are delivering care feel prepared, respected, and valued, patient outcomes naturally improve. And my approach is centered on establishing clear, evidence-based standards, providing ongoing training and coaching and holding teams accountable to measurable outcomes. But also at the same time, I'm intentionally creating a space for humanity and recognizing that healthcare is both a science and a deeply human endeavor. I believe compliance and compassion are not competing priorities. They are complementary and strong regulatory alignment creates safety and consistency, while empathy and respect creates a trust and healing. So when clinicians are equipped with both, quality becomes sustainable.

Ken Huey 2:43

All right. So what's the biggest challenges families face today when they're navigating the behavioral healthcare system?

Phyllis Leverett 2:50

Access. Access is generally one of the biggest issues, access and transportation. And it also is about being able to manipulate the system in general. There are a lot of, you know, roadblocks and things of that nature. And then we have a lot of families, especially in rural communities, we've had budget cuts and things like that that directly affect them. So just access, the transportation, understanding how to exploit the system is one of the biggest hurdles that a lot of families face.

Ken Huey 3:23

Phyllis, your joint commission behavioral health surveyor, this is not a job I want. I mean, that level of detail just kills me. How is it shaped the way that you look at quality and compliance?

Phyllis Leverett 3:35

Well, for me, I've always been kind of nerdy. So I like analytical things, but with joint commission, it lets me see that as far as compliance and policies and procedures, we need that framework. Given a framework to be able to work within helps us to understand the bigger picture in terms of quality service and patient care, which of course, Joint Commission, that's the gold standard. That's what they stand for. But working for them, I have a whole new appreciation for the quality side. And that's my love too, as well as being a therapist, but quality, understanding processes and procedures, because oftentimes I'm called to either write or assist in writing, but it's giving me a whole new respect for compliance and policies and procedures and understanding the why. Because there's always a why as to how we do what we do.

Ken Huey 4:30

Absolutely. Okay, so private practice, you've done plenty of that too. What themes do you see in private practice for individuals rediscovering their worth?

Phyllis Leverett 4:42

Well, I treat adults. Now I used to treat children and adolescents, but I'm strictly adults, and I see a lot of women. I see men as well, but I see a lot of women. And the women that I see, they're lost because, of course, being a woman, once you're married, you take on these different titles. You become a wife, you become a mother, you become the soccer mom, you become all these things, and you forget who you are in the grander scheme of things. You often become passive, you give excuses for a lot of things, you overlook a lot of things, you have no boundaries. And some of us, even prior to any marriage or relationship, we had no boundaries. And so what I see is a lot of issues with self-efficacy, which unfortunately leads to depression and anxiety. And if you already have been diagnosed with a mental illness, it can only exacerbate it.

Ken Huey 5:29

Yeah. All right, let's jump to you. You've written a book, Phyllis. You wrote a book. This is no small thing. It's called Tellem to Go to Hell. The Empowered Woman's Guide to Rediscovering Her Worth. Okay, what inspired you to write this?

Phyllis Leverett 5:46

Well, this is two years in the making. And just like any other woman, we came up with, okay, your value is going to be based on if a man chooses you, your value is going to be based on what the outside look thinks of you. It's going to be based on optics. We're doing the bluing and the pinking, which you know, the female is always the pink, subservient, and so on and so forth. And we were all raised that way, you know? And I think to our detriment, because we don't understand that you, all these things can exist at the same time. But when we say, for instance, become married, become a mother, become all these other things, we forget. We literally forget. And then we end up becoming very bitter, very unhappy. And sometimes it's depression. Not understanding that you need to know who you are. You need to have a healthy relationship with yourself and be able to advocate for yourself. So that's what pushed the book. I've been a young lady, and unfortunately, I've made some decisions that I probably wouldn't have made. Given this information, so I made that for the young lady in me. I made it for all of my girlfriends who I love and adore. Just something to help them understand that you are worthy, you are important, you do not have to bend, you do not have to compromise.

Ken Huey 7:06

Yeah. So, Phyllis, one piece of advice. If there's just one thing you were gonna say for women that are feeling undervalued or stuck or disempowered, what would you say?

Phyllis Leverett 7:19

You are enough. Sometimes you're more than enough, and you need to know that.

Ken Huey 7:26

Very nice. All right. Talk to me about surviving versus truly thriving. How do we go to truly thriving?

Phyllis Leverett 7:37

Well, first of all, we have to acknowledge that there's an issue and that it exists and also the part that we play in it. Because just surviving is it's kind of like, you know, if you can't swim, but you're in the water and you're dog paddling to keep your head above water so that you don't drown, that kind of a thing, that's what it feels like. You're in a constant state of dog paddling, and that's no way for anyone to live. So we're talking about thriving, is acknowledge that if we have an issue, there's always a solution. May not be the one that you think it should be, but there's always a solution. But what I find oftentimes people don't even want to acknowledge that there's an issue, which is going to prevent you from healing so that you can be able to thrive instead of survive.

Ken Huey 8:22

How about practical strategies for building emotional resilience?

Phyllis Leverett 8:27

Well, first of all, building emotional resilience, I would say definitely seek a therapist because that's what we're here for, and understanding yet again what is going on with you internally. I like to ask people oftentimes when I meet them, they'll come and they'll present, okay, this is really why they're upset. This is really why they're mad. This, and it's really never what they say it is. So once you're able to actually talk it out with them, you get to the underlayer and it makes more sense. So for me, I think reaching out to a professional, because some of those things you can't do alone, at least not starting off. You would need definitely need some assistance, which is perfectly fine. Everybody does it.

Ken Huey 9:07

Talk to me about accountability and what the role is of accountability in personal healing.

Phyllis Leverett 9:14

Well, yet again, as a therapist, oftentimes you see patients and we think therapist is this magic pill, and it's not. It's one of those things to where we give you these tools, we work with you for these tools, but ultimately, if you never pick up these tools, if you don't use them on a daily basis, that's where the accountability lies. You're gonna have to do these things. I'm on the ship with you, but you're the captain. I can point it out and say, hey, you want to miss that iceberg, but ultimately you're the driver. So you have to be able to understand that. And yet again, that's being able to acknowledge that there is an issue, understanding that I'm gonna need a little bit of assistance with this, and being able to understand that there's really no stigma. I know a lot of times the stigma piece gets involved in it, but you're trying to be your best version of yourself. And sometimes it's gonna be hard for one individual to do that. So you call in assistance as a therapist.

Ken Huey 10:09

All right. You know, the name of the podcast is The Voice of Hope. When you think about hope, transformation, what does that journey look like for real people in real life?

Phyllis Leverett 10:21

For me, hope is understanding that you don't have to be a prisoner of the past. Hope is knowing that there is something better over the horizon. All you have to do is walk to it. You may have some obstacles in front of you, but guess what? That's par for the course. That light is there, and you're just gonna have to walk to it.

Ken Huey 10:41

Phyllis, you bring a shining light and a presence that just invites growth. I really appreciate you spending a little bit of time being on this podcast with us.

Phyllis Leverett 10:52

Thank you so much. This is my very first one. I'm so excited, and I've let everybody know. And they was like, boys, this is a hope. So now I've got everybody that's like, oh, yeah, they're gonna tune in. Like, yes, I I know, because I'm tuning in too.

Ken Huey 11:05

Well, fantastic. So good to have you on, and thanks for being with us. Thank you. Thanks for joining us on The Voice of Hope. If you were inspired, share the light. And remember, the hope's not just a feeling, it's a force. We'll see you next time.