We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Laklieshia Izzard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Laklieshia below.
Alright, Dr. Laklieshia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
I would have to say my defining moment as a mental health professional would be working in substance use addiction recovery as a novice counselor. I conducted group and individual therapy. I counseled many individuals with mental health and substance use challenges. During my time as an addiction counselor, I did not only focus on the clinical view. I allowed myself to be open and teachable in the world of recovery. As I realized quickly as a novice counselor that there was not a one size fits all approach for individuals. I embraced theory integration, faith-based integration, and technical eclecticism. I attended Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to learn more about recovery. I also volunteered at my church as a recovery group leader. I listened intently when others shared their journey of recovery. I truly fell in love with the concept of recovery being a part of the healing process. Recovery is a thriving way of life. To see individuals that were in active substance use addiction, now living a thriving life in Recovery is truly a miracle! To see individuals once not functioning due to their Mental Health condition now living a life of Recovery is truly a miracle! Recovery intrigued and blessed my life so much I decided to conduct my dissertation on Recovery titled the influence of Narcotics Anonymous on long term recovery, family relationships, and career development a Qualitative Study. The study consisted of 14 individuals with 10 or more years in recovery. The results of the study concluded positive outcomes across all three areas and many more benefits. Much of my counseling work where I saw profound outcomes in the healing process I have self-published into books; like Faith Inspiration Therapy and No More Silent Suffering: Faith Based Coping Tools for the US Military. All of my publications can be found on Amazon. My counseling experience in addiction and recovery continues to shape my direction in my virtual practice Shekinah Counseling, counselor leadership, mental health leadership, and community leadership. This work was the catalyst to my becoming a Counselor Advocate and Mental Health Advocate. During my Presidential term 2019-2020 for the American Counseling Association of Georgia I was blessed to serve on the American Counseling Association historic interstate compact advisory board in Collaboration with the National Center for Interstate Compacts; the Council of State Governments. This board provided advisement to develop the compact for counselor state licensure portability. I was awarded with the American Counseling Association Southern Region Chair award in honor of my leadership and advocacy during my presidential term. In 2020, I also served on the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership in collaboration with NAMI Georgia, Mental Health America of Georgia, and many more Mental Health Advocacy organizations. This partnership was developed to create a framework for a common understanding and action plan to address mental health and substance use care policy. As a result of the GMHPP advocacy one of the largest historic Mental Health bills HB1013 was signed into law on April 4, 2022 as the Mental Health Parity Law! I absolutely enjoy being an Advocacy Leader this position affords me many opportunities to have a voice for those in Recovery and for those that are working toward having a life of Recovery!
Dr. Laklieshia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I say often Mental Health is not just my passion but my gift to share with the world. I sincerely mean that and anyone who hears me speak on Mental Health can feel my passion and hear the wisdom from the gift. I know Mental Health is my gift because I have been blessed to serve adults and young people with mental health needs since I was 22 years old. I have just as much enthusiasm and excitement about Mental Health now as I did as a Special Education teacher at the age of 22. In addition to being a mental health counselor, I am a Mental Health expert, trainer, speaker, mentor, board of director, leader and so much more. I have served as a mentor for the American Counseling Association’s first national 2021 mentoring program (ACAMP) for new counseling professionals. I have served as a mentor for the American Psychological Association and National Board of Certified Counselor’s inaugural collaborative Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship mentoring program (IMFP) in 2021 for graduate counseling students of color and I continue to serve. I also mentor Licensed Professional Counselors, Educators, and other professionals that need support identifying their gifts and purpose direction. I enjoy seeing professionals discover their gifts and start on their path to purpose! As a Mental Health trainer, I am extremely grateful to provide as a service under my business a variety of trainings consistently to different organizations monthly. A few of my recent trainings I have conducted for multiple organizations are as follows: Mental Health in the Black Community, Racism a Public Mental Health Crisis, Youth Trauma and the Brain, and Why are young black males ending their life by Suicide. As a National Alliance on Mental illness Smarts trainer, I conduct advocacy training to teach the community how to share their mental health story with elected officials and how to become a mental health advocate. This has been a great way for me to make a difference in my community. Something I believe that sets me apart from others and that I am eternally grateful for is being the primary Behavioral Health Leader in my county of residence. The Newton County Board of commissioners appointed me to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities region 3 advisory council as the only Newton County member. I am the first African American female doctorate level Licensed Mental Health Professional, Advocate, and Community Leader to hold this position. I was extremely honored to win Newton County’s historic OneNewton award in December 2021 for my mental health related service work with diverse communities across the county and state. The #OneNewton Award acknowledges the significant positive impact of citizens who take positive steps to create a culture and climate of respect and inclusion, who value differences and find innovative ways to improve opportunities for the diverse communities we serve in 6 different municipalities. This winner exemplifies promoting the Newton County’s mantra of a Work, Live and Play community. They epitomize our #OneNewton “Daisy” Logo: Growing Together in unity where each petal and blade of grass matters.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Personal Development I believe is essential to success within and outside of one’s field of work. This is not something we are taught in basic education and college courses. We must take the time to invest in ourselves to grow in our gifts, goals, dreams, and visions. I didn’t learn about personal development until I invested in myself by attending a Black entrepreneur’s symposium title Riot Starter under the leadership of Dr. Taunya Lowe. This symposium helped me think outside the box beyond my professional career. I was able to identify my life direction and goals. I was able to see my visions more clearly and discover my purpose!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Running for public office and being an active community leader in the Mental Health field surely takes resilience! Being a community leader takes having the heart of servant and the heart of a lion. I am blessed to have both. I am compassionate about the needs of others, I’m always ready to get the job done to see my entire community thrive. Serving people brings out the very best in me. Servant leadership was ingrained in me by observing my late grandmothers Lillie Izzard and Nellie Johnson serve their communities with only what they had to give. Running for public office takes tenacity, persistence, perseverance, and yes indeed again resilience. I am grateful for my recent divine courage to make history as the first Newton County Resident and new candidate to run for Georgia State House of Representatives in the new district 93 which encompasses Newton, Rockdale, and Dekalb counties. While I did not win this seat, I did win in developing more than 30 new community and faith-based partnerships across all three counties! That included hosting the first Community Recovery and Mental Health panel event in collaboration with Category ten entertainment radio (view the event here: https://www.facebook.com/100000927099320/videos/549123856570949/) . My campaign experience was one of great joy and growth. I am now reaping the benefits in overflowing amazing opportunities!
Contact Info:
- Website: shekinahcts.com
- Facebook: @DrlaklieshiaIzzard and @Shekinah Counseling
- Linkedin: Dr. Klieshia Izzard Ed.D, LPC, ACS
- Youtube: Dr. Laklieshia Izzard
Image Credits
prolyphiqstudios photos