Meet Dr. Lucy R. Cannon, LCSW, CCDP-D, MATS: Owner, CEO, LEJ Behavioral Health Services, LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Lucy R. Cannon, LCSW, CCDP-D, MATS and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Lucy R., what role has risk played in your life or career?
I have been in the mental health field as a seasoned Social Worker for many years. I have had the opportunity to work in many various roles as a social worker to include; clinician, supervisor, coordinator of day programs for individuals with co-occurring disorders disabilities, program manager, director, college professor, and now owner of my own consulting company. I believe my entire career thus far has required me to take risk to include working in various hospital settings, community based programs, public and private healthcare settings, and academic settings. Being a risk taker involves taking the necessary steps to work hard to get promoted to the next level within organizations, being willing to take constructive feedback from supervisors and co-workers, investing in further trainings and education to strengthen my skill set,, and believing in my ability to accomplish goals that has required me to work hard to accomplish. I also believe that my faith in my higher power has played a key role in who I am today. I continue to see myself has a risk taker today as evidenced by my past experiences and strong desire to be the best at whatever task I take on. I spend a great deal of my time surrounding myself with professionals in the healthcare fields, business sector, and academic settings because some of the most impressive people in the workplace work in these settings. My family and friends have and continue to be a great supporter of my work and thanks to their encouragement and belief in me, I continue to evolve has a successful business woman. I truly believe it is also necessary to mentor others of which I am committed to doing and giving back to our community in a volunteer capacity. Being a risk taker involves getting over insecurities and fear of which I have problems in these areas at different times in my career. Today, I no longer let my fear and insecure feelings about my God given talent and hard work interfere with my long range goals. I am writing my first book on how to over come fear and how to take on success. Taking risk is necessary if one wants to be successful in life. Taking risk has allowed me to start my own training and consulting company in the healthcare field, confront and work through good and bad decisions, rise up and push toward a successful career. The healthcare field and the many lessons I have learned on this journey has allowed me to truly grow as a professional. I believe the work I am doing is making a positive difference in the lives of the individuals and organizations I serve.

What should our readers know about your business?
I lunched LEJ Behavioral Health Services, LLC in the fall of 2013. I am the owner and CEO of this training and consulting company. I work with some amazing companies as a consultant and trainer. I have 3 part-time/as needed staff who help me run my company. I also serve on various boards of directors and advisory councils in Metropolitan Georgia. I mentor and provide clinical supervision to students and professionals in the mental health field. I do pro-bono church counseling in my community. It is my belief that my company is set apart from other companies is my strong and diverse clinical background in the mental health field, academic skills as a college professor, and my commitment and work that I provide on various boards of directors in the state of Georgia. I also believe my personal commitment and resources I share with others to include healthcare organizations,colleagues, and students demonstrates my commitment to the mental health field. I am most proud of the evolving of my company after 7 years in business and how it has survived given our economic conditions. I am so proud of finally having three methods of trainings of which we implented earlier this year. We provide live trainings to various healthcare organizations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and Louisiana, webinar trainings, and online trainings for healthcare professionals in the mental health and substance used disorders fields, and the United States Military. I believe the various jobs I have had in the field, great mentors, and hardwork has had a major contribution to where I am today. My family, friends, and colleagues have been a great source of encouragement to include their experiences and resources has made a huge contribution to my success. I continue to believe my faith and trust in God has kept me on the pathway and guided me on my journey to this stage in my life and career. I experienced a great deal of fear and uncertainty after I was laid off a job I had seven years ago because of a funding problem. My family to include my husband and daughter, my sisters,best friend, and great colleagues encouragement and belief in my abilities led me to the birth of my own company, LEJ Behavioral Health Services. I learned to depend and seek out individuals who own their own companies and leaders who are managing healthcare organizations to help guide me in learning how to develop and manage my own company. I am also grateful that I have a rather long career in managing various types of mental health programs and teaching business classes at DeVry University. I learned the importance of making mistakes and learning from them. I also learned to not let my fear overcome my company’s purpose and mission. I would advise new owners of their company to seek out qualified mentors, provide services that demonstrate your skill set or hire folks who can do the work that is needed to make your company a success, include folks with business backgrounds to help manage your technology, human resources, and etc. Do not attempt to do all of the positions required to run and effective company and know your strengths and weaknesses. Listen to good advice and continue to work on further developing your business skills via education and training. Learn the importance of marketing your product, ensure that your website is current and is managed by trained IT professionals. I want the world to know that my main brand is training other professionals on how to provide effective and best practice treatment to the individuals they serve in the healthcare field. On a personal note, have dreams that are bigger than what you are comfortable doing. Reach for those goals that require you to stretch and grow as a person. It is indeed a wonderful and humbling experience when you exceed your goals.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite spots in Atlanta is Atlantic Station and many of the shops in the midtown and stone mountain area in metropolitan Atlanta. Recommended Week long Itinerary would include the following;

1. I would take my best friend for a great casual breakfast at Huskers in Stone Mountain.

2. We would do the following tours during the first 3 days; Visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, World of Coca-Cola, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Mercedes Benz Stadium (hopefully to a sporting event), CNN Studio Tours, 90 Minute Trolley tour, the Fox Theater, and the Civil Rights Museum.

3. We would do a day of shopping at the Mall of Georgia and Perimeter Mall.

4. We would eat at various restaurants down town to include Bizy Bees Resturants, and other eatery places. We would eat dinner at my favorite Japanese place, Nagonos Japanese Restaurant in Stone Mountain, Ga. Our special dress-up dinner would include a fancy meal at the Sundown Restaurant.

5.We would attend a Sunday church service with my church family at The Snellville Church of Christ.

All of these places and events would be very exciting and memorable for my friend during her stay in Hot Atlanta!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A Special Shout out to my Family, Friends, and Colleagues