We were lucky to catch up with Rayvene Whatley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rayvene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

There is one moment that changed the entire direction of my career. I was in session with a client and in the middle of our conversation, she suddenly stopped talking. She looked straight at me and said, “You should do this.”

I remember sitting there completely confused. I thought she meant the therapy I was already providing, so I asked, “Do what?” She said, “This. Focus on us. Black women. We need this.”

At first, I honestly did not know what to do with that statement. But it stuck with me. Not because it was only about Black women, but because of what I kept seeing over and over again in my sessions. People who looked fine on the outside but were carrying stress, confusion, or hurt on the inside. People who were successful and exhausted at the same time. And the biggest thing they had in common was that each one thought they were the only person dealing with it.

Once I saw that pattern, it changed everything. It made me pay closer attention to the emotional pressure high achieving adults were living with. That moment pushed me to build Simplicity Psychotherapy the way I did, and it eventually opened the door for Audacity Wellness too. It guided me toward the work I do now. Helping people, and the workplaces they show up in, make space for emotional honesty after years of pretending everything is fine.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Atlanta and the founder of two connected but very different brands. Simplicity Psychotherapy is my private practice where I work with adults who look like they have everything together, but feel overwhelmed, stuck, or emotionally disconnected underneath. Audacity Wellness is the consulting arm that focuses on workplace culture, burnout, communication, and the emotional realities people carry into their jobs.

At Simplicity Psychotherapy, I lead a team of licensed therapists who support for adults navigating anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, and workplace stress. We work with high achieving clients who often look fine on the outside but feel overwhelmed or emotionally stretched thin. I am proud of the team we have built. They are steady, thoughtful clinicians who care deeply about the work and the people we serve.

At Audacity Wellness, I help organizations shift how they relate to employees. I provide culture oriented trainings, team workshops, and leadership support that center emotional clarity, cultural humility, and healthier communication. My focus is on helping workplaces understand what their people are carrying and what it takes to support them in a real and practical way.

What sets my work apart is my ability to move between the individual and the system. I understand what employees need on a personal level and I understand what leaders need to create healthier teams. I am proud of building spaces where people feel seen and understood, whether they are in therapy or sitting in a training room. What I want people to know about my work is simple. You do not have to choose between success and emotional honesty. You can have both, and both matter.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A moment that reflects my resilience happened during the transition from being a solo clinician to leading a full practice. Clinically, I was solid. Running a business was new. I had to learn hiring, onboarding, supervising, building systems, managing paperwork, handling insurance, and keeping the practice steady. Mind you, I was doing all of this while seeing clients, supervising new clinicians, and being a human outside of work.

I never questioned whether I would keep going. What I faced instead was the sheer mental load of being responsible for everything at once.

There was a learning curve, and resilience for me looked like giving myself permission to grow into the role instead of assuming I should know it all on day one. I asked questions, sought guidance, made adjustments, and stayed steady even when the responsibilities expanded faster than planned.

I kept moving forward because I believed in the work and the people we were serving. That season taught me that resilience can look calm on the outside but very intentional on the inside. It is the quiet decision to stay consistent while you grow into the next version of yourself.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Outside of training, the most important skill in this field is being able to actually listen. Not the surface kind. The kind where you pay attention to what people are saying, what they are avoiding, and what they have learned to downplay just to get through the day. This is true in both the therapy room and the business side of things. Running a practice means listening to your team, listening to the workflow, listening to what is not efficient, and listening to what your clients and clinicians need in order to function well. If you are not paying attention, the clinical work may thrive for a moment, but the business cannot.

Another piece is self-awareness. You have to know your strengths and your limits. The business side will expose you quickly if you try to do everything alone or pretend that skill in session automatically translates to skill in management. It does not. You have to know when to bring in support, when to delegate, and when to step back and let other people do what they do well.

And finally, steadiness matters. A practice is still a business, and people need to feel that the environment is consistent. Your team needs to know what to expect from you. Your clients need to know the practice is organized and dependable. Emotional steadiness and operational steadiness go hand in hand. Both build trust. And trust is what keeps the work moving.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simplicitypsychotherapy.com; https://www.audacitywellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacktherapycollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplicitypsychotherapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayvene-whatley/