Creating Safe Spaces - A Conversation with Dr. LaNail Plummer

From her childhood in Southern California where she first recognized social disparities, to serving in the military, and now leading Onyx Therapy Group, Dr. LaNail Plummer's journey embodies what it means to create safe spaces through authentic representation. In this powerful episode, we explore how building community and staying true to yourself can transform mental health services for marginalized communities.

Why This Story Matters Now 

In a time of social uncertainty and increased mental health awareness, Dr. Plummer's approach to creating psychologically safe spaces for both clients and practitioners is revolutionary. Her work demonstrates how representation in mental health isn't just about visibility—it's about creating environments where Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ individuals can heal and flourish.

The Journey to Finding Her Purpose 

Building from Natural Gifts 

Growing up as a military brat with a single father, Dr. Plummer's entrepreneurial spirit emerged early when she started a school store in middle school and developed a buddy program for military children relocating to new bases. Her curiosity about decision-making (sparked by a childhood misunderstanding about "serial killers") led her to study psychology, where she found her natural analytical abilities aligned perfectly with her desire to help others.

Creating Impact Through Visibility 

Initially hiding her identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community during her military service and early career, Dr. Plummer eventually recognized that authenticity was essential to her purpose. When she came out at age 33, she embraced this aspect of herself as a gift that enhanced her ability to connect with and serve clients. This visibility extended beyond personal freedom—it created representation for others seeking therapists who understood their lived experiences.

Building Community Through Mental Health 

One of Dr. Plummer's proudest achievements has been creating Onyx Therapy Group as a psychologically safe haven where both clients and staff can be their authentic selves. By focusing on making her staff feel "good and safe and seen and heard," she creates a ripple effect: "What I give to my staff, they give to their clients, and the clients give that to their community."

Key Insights for Business Owners 

Authentic Leadership 

The person behind the business matters as much as the services offered. Dr. Plummer's experience demonstrates how building psychological safety in the workplace creates better outcomes for everyone involved. Her approach includes giving staff direct access to leadership, flexibility in scheduling, and the freedom to use their voices without fear.

Building Sustainable Success 

Creating balance through boundaries is crucial for sustainable success. Dr. Plummer manages multiple roles—CEO, department chair, therapist, and author—by setting clear boundaries around media consumption, time management, and energy allocation. This grounding allows her to lead effectively while continuing to grow personally and professionally.

Looking Forward 

Change the Reel isn't just about sharing success stories—it's about changing the narrative of what healing looks like. Through Dr. Plummer's journey from curious child to celebrated mental health leader, we see how embracing your authentic self can create ripples of change throughout an industry. Each safe space she creates becomes an opportunity to honor ancestral wisdom while creating new pathways to healing.

Stories and Examples Featured: 

Throughout this episode, Dr. Plummer shares personal stories about her childhood entrepreneurial ventures, her time in the military, her experience coming out at age 33, her approach to supporting staff during difficult times, and her journey to becoming an author with a two-book deal from Norton Publishing. Each example illustrates how staying true to yourself while honoring your community can lead to unexpected opportunities and meaningful impact.

Connect with Dr. LaNail Plummer through Onyx Therapy Group for mental health services that blend professional expertise, cultural understanding, and authentic representation.

Hashtags: #RepresentationMatters #MentalHealthAwareness #LGBTQOwned #BlackTherapists #PsychologicalSafety #CommunityHealing

Dr. Plummer: They are working with Black, Brown,

Dr. Plummer: women

Dr. Plummer: and LGBTQ clients.

Dr. Plummer: So I am writing this book with my people in mind, with my Black women in mind, with my

Dr. Plummer: women in mind, with my Brown folks in mind, with my women in mind in general, with my LGBTQ

Dr. Plummer: people in mind.

Dr. Plummer: I'm writing the book for us.

Dr. Plummer: I started a store in our middle school because my friends kept getting in trouble because they

Dr. Plummer: were going to the corner store to get snacks midday and they were coming back to school late

Dr. Plummer: and get this, they were unavailable for me to talk to them in class. And so I felt that it was a

Dr. Plummer: personal problem that the school needed to address. I, Linnell, was missing out on good social time

Dr. Plummer: and peer development because the school didn't have a store.

Change

the Real, a podcast with

Monique Velasquez, and Piper Kessler.

For

over 20 years,

we've run a video production business

that has achieved what only 3% of women entrepreneurs have done, exceed $250,000 in

revenue. We want to see business owners that look like us succeed. That's why we've started this

podcast. Change the Reel will drop twice a month. We'll release two types of episodes. One is with

Piper and I kicking it and talking about using video in business. And the second features

conversations with business owners using media to drive diverse perspectives. This is Change

the Real. Representation starts

here.

Hey,

y'all. Hey, I'm Monique. And I'm Piper Kessler. And

I'm excited to get to know and introduce our guest, Dr. Linnell Plummer. She is a badass.

With more than 18 years in the mental health field, she specializes in the care of young

women, the Black community, and members of the LGBTQ plus community. She's a United States

military veteran

and

the CEO of Onyx

Therapy Group. Her expertise has been featured in publications

such as Forbes, The Today Show, Essence, New York Magazine, Time Magazine, and The Washingtonian.

And she's about to become a published author. Dr. Plummer is finalizing her first book,

The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women. Look for its release from Norton Publishing.

Dr. Plummer has hosted and been a guest of several podcasts. She focuses on being authentic,

adding her face and voice to the conversation as a professional in the

mental health field.

Today, we want to talk to Dr. Plummer about representation in media and how she's working

to shift society's construction of Black, Brown, and LGBTQ identity. Welcome, Dr. Plummer.

yay

Dr. Plummer: thank you y'all make me sound extra good thank you thank you

i'm sure there's a there's a longer list that we could have put up but it said but

we tried to to shorten it down there we

Dr. Plummer: hit the

big highlights i

appreciate it yeah you have such

an accomplished resume and we are really thrilled to have this connection today and i know we met

through a virtual meeting with the National

LGBTQ

Chamber of Commerce. That's right. I loved the

opportunity in a business setting to talk to other entrepreneurs that are interested in representation

in media.

Dr. Plummer: That's right. That's right. That's right. Absolutely. Yes. That was several months ago now,

Dr. Plummer: right? Like almost half a year has passed, but what a wonderful opportunity for us

Dr. Plummer: both

Dr. Plummer: to be able to meet each other. I appreciate it.

Yeah. So what we're going to start out with,

if you could hand out your flowers today, who would you honor for shaping your entrepreneurial

journey? And this can be somebody that you may have never met in person. Oh my gosh, just one

person? We've had people name more than one.

Dr. Plummer: Yeah, what a tough thing. You know, I'm not of the

Dr. Plummer: mindset that I pulled myself up by my own bootstrings, right? Like I absolutely believe

Dr. Plummer: somebody gave me the boot. Somebody taught me how to walk. Somebody gave me the strings. Somebody

Dr. Plummer: taught me how to pull. I am a manifestation and a representation of the community, which is why

Dr. Plummer: I feel the need to give back to the community. I think coming immediately, what comes to mind

Dr. Plummer: are my middle school counselor. She is the first person who allowed me to start a business. I started

Dr. Plummer: a store in our middle school because my friends kept getting in trouble because they were going

Dr. Plummer: to the corner store to get snacks midday

Dr. Plummer: and

Dr. Plummer: they were coming back to school late. And get this,

Dr. Plummer: they were unavailable for me to talk to them in class. And so I felt that it was a personal

Dr. Plummer: problem that the school needed to address. I, Linnell, was missing out on good social time

Dr. Plummer: and peer development because the school didn't have a store. So I said something similar.

Dr. Plummer: to that, to my school counselor, way back in the early 90s. And she said, you know what,

Dr. Plummer: Linnell, let's go ahead and see if you can start a store. And so I did start a store,

Dr. Plummer: and that store is still running today. The school is Develejo Middle School,

Dr. Plummer: and it is still running in the school today. The second person around my entrepreneurial journey

Dr. Plummer: would probably be one of our military commanders when I was a military brat. I still affectionately

Dr. Plummer: use the term brat. And my dad was in the United States Army and we were in Korea. And I mentioned

Dr. Plummer: to the base commander, I can't remember his name right now, but I mentioned to him that the soldiers

Dr. Plummer: get an opportunity to have a battle buddy, if you will, when they go to a new location. There's

Dr. Plummer: somebody who reaches out to them

Dr. Plummer: and

Dr. Plummer: they say, welcome to our base. These are some things you can

Dr. Plummer: do. I'm excited to meet you when you get here. And all of that beautiful stuff to allow for the

Dr. Plummer: soldier to have

Dr. Plummer: a

Dr. Plummer: good transition to their new duty station. And of course, we were overseas in

Dr. Plummer: Korea. And I was in high school at the time. So, you know, high school can be really challenging for

Dr. Plummer: students when it comes to interpersonal relationships and friendships. And so one day,

Dr. Plummer: I was like, you know, why do the soldiers get to have this and their children don't get to have this?

Dr. Plummer: Like, we're also affected by this move. We're also leaving our friends. We're leaving our friends

Dr. Plummer: during high school, which is a pivotal time in our development. And so I went to the base commander

Dr. Plummer: and I pitched this idea. I didn't know it was pitching, but I pitched the idea to him and he

Dr. Plummer: was like, okay, Linnell, so what do you want to do? And I was like, I need an office space. I need

Dr. Plummer: access to the soldiers' children's home addresses so I can start writing them letters. I need this

Dr. Plummer: to go in the newspaper so that all the soldiers will know that this is happening

Dr. Plummer: and

Dr. Plummer: I need to be

Dr. Plummer: paid. And so

Dr. Plummer: he

Dr. Plummer: said, okay, why don't you go ahead and try it? And I tried it. And that program is

Dr. Plummer: still in operation today as well. So those were the first two people who listened to my business

Dr. Plummer: ideas. I didn't know they were business ideas at the time. They were really, again, focused on the

Dr. Plummer: community, right? Like how do we get to talk and hang out in school, which was our safe space because

Dr. Plummer: it was California in the early 90s. So it wasn't always safe, not our area rather wasn't safe.

Dr. Plummer: So how do we have safety and have conversation and development? And on the other side,

Dr. Plummer: with the military, how do we form community? So I've always had ideas that were community oriented.

Dr. Plummer: Aside from them, you know, my dad has always been a person to allow me to have a voice. He was a

Dr. Plummer: single father. Rarely at that time, did you see Black men raising their children alone? They were,

Dr. Plummer: you know, usually raising their children with a partner, but my dad made the decision to be a

Dr. Plummer: single father, raising a spunky girl like me, right? So he never silenced me. He always listened

Dr. Plummer: to my thoughts and my goals and, you know, solutions to problems, which is what I think

Dr. Plummer: one of the elements of entrepreneurship. So my dad is absolutely in there.

Dr. Plummer: In

Dr. Plummer: present time,

Dr. Plummer: of course, God, always God, but he's not quite a person, right? So I would say, you know, my school

Dr. Plummer: counselor, our base commander in Seoul, Korea, in Itaewa, or excuse me, in Yongsan, Korea,

Dr. Plummer: and then my daddy, Vincent Plummer.

You

know, we have a little bit of commonality.

My dad was a career Air Force, and we moved around quite a bit.

Our experience is by a few decades difference, or at least a decade.

So that is an amazing thing to be able to have, like, those battle buddies and the kids.

going from base to base, that particular base specifically is amazing. So also in your field,

do you have somebody that you feel like is doing a really good job of representation,

specifically in your field? Maybe you know them and they're doing an amazing job,

or you haven't met them and you want to give them a shout out for doing a good job of representation

and, you know, affecting specific communities?

Dr. Plummer: Absolutely.

Dr. Plummer: Dr. Joy Bradford,

Dr. Plummer: she

Dr. Plummer: is the owner of Therapy for Black Girls.

Dr. Plummer: And she created this platform far before the pandemic.

Dr. Plummer: But when the pandemic happened, it was a very accessible tool for Black folks to use to start

Dr. Plummer: getting therapy.

Dr. Plummer: And shortly after that, there was a spinoff site called Therapy for Black Men.

Dr. Plummer: And that's not owned by Dr. Joy, but it's owned by someone else.

Dr. Plummer: And so it made it quite easy to be able to get access for Black folks who have taboos,

Dr. Plummer: who have historically had taboos

Dr. Plummer: or

Dr. Plummer: have been silenced around talking about their mental health

Dr. Plummer: because of the social and financial implications for that, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like, it's tricky to talk about your mental health when people still judge mental health.

Dr. Plummer: And your job can be determined by whether you have mental health issues or not.

Dr. Plummer: and your livelihood can be affected by whether you have mental health issues or not. And so many

Dr. Plummer: Black people are not necessarily talking about their mental health issues, but to have a platform

Dr. Plummer: where they know that it's safe and that people that look like them and speak like them are there.

Dr. Plummer: Now, we recognize that Black folks are not monolithic, but there is common language that's

Dr. Plummer: used in cultural upbringing that makes things a little easier to talk about as opposed to having a

Dr. Plummer: client having to educate their counselor. So absolutely, Dr. Joy Bradford, my headquarters is

Dr. Plummer: D.C. area. And so there's people like Dr. Barbara Brown, who owns the Capital Consortium, that has

Dr. Plummer: been really helpful in making sure that marginalized communities have access to mental health services.

Dr. Plummer: There's the Mecca Group, which is owned by Dr. Mercedes Eubanks and Dr. Keisha Mack, who have been

Dr. Plummer: amazing. And then I have the opportunity as an entrepreneur to be a part of a beautiful organization

Dr. Plummer: that was founded about two and a half years ago called the Bo Collective. Over 200 Black women who

Dr. Plummer: who own businesses, who lean in on each other to make sure that our businesses are maximizing.

Dr. Plummer: So where a lot of our organizations, civic organizations, are centered on developing the

Dr. Plummer: community, the Bold Collective is centered on developing Black women entrepreneurs.

Dr. Plummer: So I think, and that owner is Dr. Nick

Dr. Plummer: Kober.

Dr. Plummer: So between those people, I think

Dr. Plummer: they

Dr. Plummer: have set a really strong foundation for me in my

Dr. Plummer: field, both as a therapist and as a businesswoman, because I see myself

Dr. Plummer: in

Dr. Plummer: several different

Dr. Plummer: industries. I'm a department chair at a university, so I'm in academia.

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: am a CEO, so I'm a businesswoman,

Dr. Plummer: and I am also a therapist. And so three different fields that I sit in.

So

I'm hearing you don't sleep a lot.

I do sleep a lot. That's so funny, Monique. I sleep a

Dr. Plummer: lot. And people are always like,

Dr. Plummer: How do you do it?

Dr. Plummer: I will tell you that I have been gifted with great time management.

Dr. Plummer: That is my gift.

Dr. Plummer: And then I get to also hone in on it as a skill and get better at it.

Dr. Plummer: But I am very good with time management, with energy management, and with prioritizing.

Dr. Plummer: And so because of that, I'm able to do a lot of things.

Pivot

a little bit and talk about your business.

What's the heart of what you do and what keeps you motivated to show up

and

create your business specialty?

I know you're like you've got this department chair and then you've got the Onyx Therapy Group.

So talk about the business.

Dr. Plummer: The business, the business Onyx Therapy Group.

Dr. Plummer: What keeps me going is knowing that I'm helping people.

Dr. Plummer: I came into the work because I wanted to help.

Dr. Plummer: I was a young child again in Southern California, and I couldn't understand why there were some groups of people who were living the American dream and they had the houses and the fences and the dogs and the children and the vacations.

Dr. Plummer: And then there were some of us that were struggling to make ends meet, and we needed a lot of assistance and government assistance and nonprofit and corporate assistance.

Dr. Plummer: Now, keep in mind, I was only about seven or eight when I started to think about these things.

Dr. Plummer: But so I didn't know anything about systems.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't know much about oppression.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't know about

Dr. Plummer: the

Dr. Plummer: gaps in education, the gaps in wealth.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't understand the implications that slavery, the implications that slavery had on my people or that immigration had on folks.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't understand that.

Dr. Plummer: All I saw as a seven-year-old was that there were some people who were living what was in the books, right?

Dr. Plummer: Because I was a big nerd.

Dr. Plummer: I read all the time.

Dr. Plummer: The library and Kmart were my favorite places.

Dr. Plummer: Kmart because that's where my Barbies were.

Dr. Plummer: And the library because that's where my books were, right?

Dr. Plummer: And so

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: needed to understand that.

Dr. Plummer: And I also, this may sound dark, so Piper and Monique, just bear with me for a second.

Dr. Plummer: But I was also growing up in Southern California, like I mentioned.

Dr. Plummer: I ate cereal.

Dr. Plummer: many mornings for my breakfast.

Dr. Plummer: In fact, I just had some a little bit ago, some Cheerios,

Dr. Plummer: but I ate cereal in the morning for breakfast.

Dr. Plummer: And then one day on the news, again,

Dr. Plummer: I was in elementary school,

Dr. Plummer: I heard that there was a cereal killer.

Dr. Plummer: And so I was like, oh my gosh,

Dr. Plummer: I have got to stop eating cereal

Dr. Plummer: because there is a person who's out here

Dr. Plummer: killing people who eat cereal.

Dr. Plummer: I cannot eat cereal.

Dr. Plummer: And I ate cereal by the window so I could look outside.

Dr. Plummer: And I was like, they're gonna get me.

Dr. Plummer: The person's gonna get me.

Dr. Plummer: My mom said, why are you not eating your cereal anymore?

Dr. Plummer: Like, what happened to your cereal?

Dr. Plummer: I was like, well, I can't eat cereal because the cereal killer is going to get me.

Dr. Plummer: And she was like,

Dr. Plummer: girl, that is

Dr. Plummer: not how this works.

Dr. Plummer: Like, first off, that's not even the right spell.

Dr. Plummer: Like, it's not the same thing, girl.

Dr. Plummer: It's not the same thing.

Dr. Plummer: Which then got me interested in cereal killers.

Dr. Plummer: I mean, are they killing people who eat Cheerios?

Dr. Plummer: Is this Frosted Flakes?

Dr. Plummer: Like, what is this that's going on here?

Dr. Plummer: You had to know.

Dr. Plummer: So I got interested.

Dr. Plummer: Right.

Dr. Plummer: I was serious about it.

Dr. Plummer: I told you I was a nerd.

Dr. Plummer: So I had to start Googling, not Googling, because we didn't have Google in the 80s.

Dr. Plummer: But I went to the library, and I used that good Dewey Decimal System.

Dr. Plummer: And I read everything I could about serial killers at a young age.

Dr. Plummer: I was in elementary school.

Dr. Plummer: And I became fascinated because it tied into decision-making, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like, how do these people make these decisions, and these people make these decisions?

Dr. Plummer: And so it all kind of intersected.

Dr. Plummer: And I decided that I wanted to go to college to study serial killers.

Dr. Plummer: And so then when I got to Howard

Dr. Plummer: University,

Dr. Plummer: which is where I attended for my undergraduate and one of my graduate degrees,

Dr. Plummer: I ended up, you know, meeting other people and doing other things.

Dr. Plummer: But counseling still became the focus in psychology

Dr. Plummer: because

Dr. Plummer: it allowed me to understand decision-making process,

Dr. Plummer: which aligns with how I engage in therapy right now,

Dr. Plummer: both as a cognitive

Dr. Plummer: therapist

Dr. Plummer: and also behavioral.

Dr. Plummer: So I guess that's kind of how I got into the work.

Dr. Plummer: So keep in mind, a lot of this was formed

Dr. Plummer: when you talk about entrepreneurship.

Dr. Plummer: That first experience was in middle school,

Dr. Plummer: decision-making and serial killers.

Dr. Plummer: I was in elementary school.

Dr. Plummer: So by the time I was 11,

Dr. Plummer: I had an idea of what I wanted to do,

Dr. Plummer: which is a blessing for me,

Dr. Plummer: But it's allowed me to propel really quickly, which is why I'm able to have all these things on my resume.

Dr. Plummer: Because as a young person, I had an idea of what I was most interested in.

Dr. Plummer: I'm not sure if that fully answered your question, Monique.

Dr. Plummer: I know I gave a whole lot of extra information in there.

Dr. Plummer: It doesn't

matter

because it's fascinating.

That's

Dr. Plummer: exactly how

I mean.

Part of it is, you know, the journey to entrepreneurship is different for everybody.

What makes you show up is your curiosity and self-reflection that you saw disparity in different communities.

I'm with you on that because you look at that and you're like, well, how come they get to do that?

I mean, my dad, their dad seemed to be doing the same thing.

Right.

And what was the subtle difference?

And it's not till later till somebody who's an adult sort of sits you down and says, look, we're not like them because

of

whatever reasons are affecting or impacting your community.

Dr. Plummer: That's right.

I am intrigued and amazed that you had that self-awareness as a kid, too. Yeah.

It's a cute story about the cereal, which is a lovely, a lovely little segue into something dark.

It is, right? It totally

is. It makes for a fascinating conversation. Let's talk about the

moment that you realize, and I know that we're talking about this, that in your industry, that

something might have been missing and how did it push you to create change that you wanted to see

because you're seeing all these role models

the

Dr. Bradford and these collectives that are going on

where along your journey did you decide you know

me

as a doctor is going to make a difference we're

not just going to sort of have these you know we know that

research

in the 80s was done on a lot of

white subjects. And so the data is kind of skewed in that direction. So where did you figure out

that, okay, we need this data to be more representative of the Black and brown communities,

the LGBTQ community? What was it that

made

you think,

I

can make a difference?

Dr. Plummer: I think I could also answer that while answering the other part of the question, the second question

Dr. Plummer: that you ask around what gets me up and going in the day.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't know who Dr. Bradford, Dr. Barbara Brown,

Dr. Plummer: Dr. Ebanks and Dr. Mack were.

Dr. Plummer: I didn't know who they were.

Dr. Plummer: In fact, I don't even know if their businesses

Dr. Plummer: were established when mine was.

Dr. Plummer: But let me explain that.

Dr. Plummer: I came into therapy because I wanted to study decision-making

Dr. Plummer: and I wanted to understand people's psyche.

Dr. Plummer: And I knew that there was disparity.

Dr. Plummer: And

Dr. Plummer: I started to think, well, if my ancestors were able to live through slavery, if my ancestors were able to live through reconstruction, if my ancestors were able to survive through these different wars, then it means that we have some sort of innate resilience, right?

Dr. Plummer: And we have some sort of ability that allows us to persevere.

Dr. Plummer: So if we can channel that energy and that historical collective understanding and knowledge, then what would happen if we had this the clear mental health, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like we were able to process through our oppression and our marginalization so that those things weren't boggling us down.

Dr. Plummer: So we had clarity and we had our spiritual and ancestral resources.

Dr. Plummer: Who would we be?

Dr. Plummer: How would we be?

Dr. Plummer: And that is where I was like, well, my goal

Dr. Plummer: is

Dr. Plummer: to help heal the Black community, right?

Dr. Plummer: So I think about myself, I identify as a healer, mental health as a healer.

Dr. Plummer: So my goal is to heal things that people are aware of and also things that people are not

Dr. Plummer: aware of.

Dr. Plummer: Even in our physical health, we have undiagnosed physical elements, right?

Dr. Plummer: In our mental health, we have undiagnosed elements as well.

Dr. Plummer: So what would happen if I can take how I am gifted, which is, you know, very analytical, which is very organized and linear kind of thinking.

Dr. Plummer: What would happen if I could take my gifts along with my skills of eventually becoming a doctor and use that to educate the community, use that to provide therapy for the community, use that to heal the community?

Dr. Plummer: So that is what brings me into the work every day.

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: also get to do that with people who are similar to me, people who are in the LGBTQ community, people who are Black, people who are women, people who have understanding of certain things.

Dr. Plummer: And so then we get to form an additional community.

Dr. Plummer: So I'm helping and healing the community while also forming community.

Dr. Plummer: And I think that's why Onyx doesn't have a lot of turnover because my staff feels so connected here with us, right?

Dr. Plummer: Thank you.

Dr. Plummer: So all of that is what keeps me going and keeps me motivated into the work that we get to do here.

Dr. Plummer: I think I got so excited there.

Dr. Plummer: There was a second part of the question that I completely missed.

Dr. Plummer: I know I did, Piper and Monique.

Dr. Plummer: You got to tell me.

Dr. Plummer: Tell me again.

Dr. Plummer: What did I miss?

Dr. Plummer: Roll that back,

please.

Yeah, the moment, you know, push to create change.

Oh, yes, of course.

All right.

Dr. Plummer: So what was happening at the time is that I knew I had in me all of this desire to help and heal the community, right?

Dr. Plummer: And then I saw, I decided that I was going to start working with young children because

Dr. Plummer: if we take it back to decision making, that's a skill set that if you learn it early, it

Dr. Plummer: helps you throughout your whole life.

Dr. Plummer: And if we think about mental health, you learn it early, then it helps you throughout your

Dr. Plummer: whole life.

Dr. Plummer: And we think about serial killers.

Dr. Plummer: All the serial killers had trauma in their youth.

Dr. Plummer: And so if I could intervene on that trauma, then maybe I could prevent a serial killer,

Dr. Plummer: right?

Dr. Plummer: Like, I don't want no worse sociopaths in the world.

Dr. Plummer: They're psychopaths.

Dr. Plummer: So I started my career by going into the schools because I was like, I will work with the young people first.

Dr. Plummer: And in working with young people, I have access to their parents, right?

Dr. Plummer: Because their parents are like, help me and my child.

Dr. Plummer: So then I could embed into family therapy.

Dr. Plummer: And from that, people could get individual therapy as well.

Dr. Plummer: So all of this kind of started

Dr. Plummer: and

Dr. Plummer: where the business eventually came is that there were tons of people now who knew about my work,

Dr. Plummer: who understood the cultural competency that I had,

Dr. Plummer: who understood my personality and my skillset,

Dr. Plummer: because I'm different.

Dr. Plummer: People often describe me as complex

Dr. Plummer: because

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: am nerdy, but I'm also very relatable.

Dr. Plummer: And so it becomes challenging for people

Dr. Plummer: because I don't fit in a box.

Dr. Plummer: But all of that is how I believe that God designed me

Dr. Plummer: so that I could do my purposeful work,

Dr. Plummer: which was around building out this business

Dr. Plummer: and doing therapy in those ways.

Dr. Plummer: So the business is not the purpose.

Dr. Plummer: The business is the vessel for the purpose to be done.

Dr. Plummer: And so all of this came about because where there was a gap, Black therapists were not

Dr. Plummer: easily accessible.

Dr. Plummer: There were not a lot.

Dr. Plummer: I mean, I've been a therapist for almost 20 years.

Dr. Plummer: There wasn't a lot.

Dr. Plummer: And then if they were,

Dr. Plummer: they

Dr. Plummer: were unrelatable because they were either nerded out completely,

Dr. Plummer: right?

Dr. Plummer: Like we love our terms.

Dr. Plummer: We love our hormones and our chemicals and our brains.

Dr. Plummer: We love neuroscience.

Dr. Plummer: We love theories and therapies and jargon and techniques.

Dr. Plummer: So either they nerded out and the client was like, this is too much. I don't know what's going on. Or it felt way too relatable, like they were talking to their cousin or their homegirls. And so they weren't getting what they needed. So they needed somebody that was kind of in the middle. And that's where I came in. And so it was about helping the Black community, healing the Black community, supporting the community.

Dr. Plummer: Later, when I came out, I've always been interested in the LGBTQ community, always. I was seven years old, again, childhood, when I knew who I was. But it wasn't always safe, right, to talk about that. And so I didn't come out publicly until I was 33.

Dr. Plummer: And that came because I felt like there was a conversation between me and God where God was saying to me, how am I supposed to bless you with all of these things in the world?

Dr. Plummer: How am I supposed to give you more clients to help, more clients to heal?

Dr. Plummer: And you are not even acknowledging the gift of gay that I have given you, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like it is a gift to me to be a part of this community, but I was hiding that.

Dr. Plummer: So how do you help people to be authentic and you're not being authentic yourself?

Dr. Plummer: You know what I mean? And so that was one of the motivators to come out.

Dr. Plummer: Yeah.

And I'm interested, too,

how

long were you in the military?

How long were you in the Army?

Dr. Plummer: Personally, I was in the military for eight years and my father was in for 26 years.

Dr. Plummer: So for a significant number of years of my life, I was associated with the military.

Dr. Plummer: And I had soldiers because I was an officer in the military.

Dr. Plummer: So I had soldiers who I knew were gay.

Dr. Plummer: They would just not say that.

Dr. Plummer: They would give their partner an androgynous kind of name.

Dr. Plummer: So Samantha would be Sam and,

Dr. Plummer: you

Dr. Plummer: know, Timothy would be T, you know.

Dr. Plummer: And so I knew that there was something that was going on there, but I couldn't ask because it was illegal.

Dr. Plummer: And there were fears that if they told me it would be something else.

Dr. Plummer: So there were subtle things that I was picking up on

Dr. Plummer: to

Dr. Plummer: let me know.

Dr. Plummer: But I didn't come out while I was in the military.

Dr. Plummer: I came out afterwards.

But there is a big influence there.

I served in a time when

there

was no such thing as don't ask, don't tell.

It was just like,

Dr. Plummer: you're

out.

Dr. Plummer: And

so it does impact what you do professionally for a while.

I didn't stay in.

And so I was able to come out

in,

I guess it was college.

I think about it.

I was

able

to.

And I have

Dr. Plummer: fun in college now, Monique.

Dr. Plummer: I have fun in college.

Dr. Plummer: I'm not saying.

Dr. Plummer: I had experiences, Monique.

Dr. Plummer: I had experiences, okay, in college, in my 20s, in my 30s.

Dr. Plummer: You know, I recognize,

too, that just because you didn't publicly do it doesn't mean that you weren't, you know, sort of understanding and aware of who you were.

I mean, that is a very different thing.

I had a friend who was a career military who was not out, but I knew them, and they hung out with us and, you know, all our friends and did the things, played softball or whatever, you know.

So that is something that I know can impact your experience, right, being in the military.

Back then, you know, there was that don't ask, don't tell.

So that is something that does

shape

what you do, right, and how you perform.

And I think, you know, kudos to you for, you know, being there and aware and, you know, probably doing your best to, you know, live your life and to help those soldiers around you also be the best professional soldier they could be, too.

Dr. Plummer: Yes, yes, yes.

Dr. Plummer: Thank you.

Dr. Plummer: Thank you.

Dr. Plummer: Thank you.

So

inclusion

obviously matters to you. And as a business owner, what's the most rewarding or challenging part of weaving that into your work?

Dr. Plummer: Oh, man. You know, I love being on podcasts, but when I'm on there, I'm like, OK, what is the answer for today? Right.

Dr. Plummer: Because every day there's something different, right? So inclusion for me is, yes, race and gender. It's also socioeconomic status is, you know, sexual orientation. It's also education levels, experience levels and things like that.

Dr. Plummer: So Onyx is so beautiful because while we are mostly

Dr. Plummer: Black

Dr. Plummer: folks, we have diversity in the education levels.

Dr. Plummer: We have interns that are here.

Dr. Plummer: You know, we have folks that are novice counselors.

Dr. Plummer: We have seasoned counselors.

Dr. Plummer: We have doctors, you know, folks with doctorates.

Dr. Plummer: We have folks, we're international.

Dr. Plummer: So we have folks in the continent of Africa, folks here in the United States.

Dr. Plummer: We have different languages that are spoken.

Dr. Plummer: Inclusivity includes all of that to me.

Dr. Plummer: On the website, it may look

Dr. Plummer: like

Dr. Plummer: we're monolithic in race and gender, but it's more diverse in so many other ways that create beautiful cultural synergy.

Dr. Plummer: Our inclusivity looks like understanding where everybody is and what they want.

Dr. Plummer: One of the big things, Piper, that was important to me when I started the company was that I needed to create a safe space for Black folks to work in.

Dr. Plummer: particularly because when I started the business 12 years ago, there were no DEI efforts, right?

Dr. Plummer: There were not things that where people were looking, what is the experience of these Black

Dr. Plummer: and brown folks? What are these experiences of these women, you know? And I was coming out of

Dr. Plummer: the military where we couldn't even have our hair locked or we couldn't style it a certain way

Dr. Plummer: because it didn't fit under our beret a certain way, right? So it wasn't safe to just be,

Dr. Plummer: you

Dr. Plummer: know,

Dr. Plummer: coming into work and then people want to touch your hair or coming into work and they're,

Dr. Plummer: what did you do over the weekend? And my weekend experiences look very different than your weekend

Dr. Plummer: experiences, right? Or I even was a single mother for a large part of my children's life. And that's

Dr. Plummer: a whole other experience, right? And there comes with stereotypes and negativity that are understood

Dr. Plummer: differently by people who the stereotype is placed on versus who make the stereotype.

Dr. Plummer: So what I really wanted in my company was for everybody to feel safe.

Dr. Plummer: What that means now is that everybody in my company has my cell phone number.

Dr. Plummer: If there's something that's happening, they can reach out to me directly.

Dr. Plummer: It means that if people want to negotiate parts of their salaries or their pay, then there's

Dr. Plummer: room to do that because I need you to use your voice.

Dr. Plummer: You are not silenced here, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like if you need flexibility in your schedule, you know, psychological safety includes a sense

Dr. Plummer: belonging. It includes learning. It includes contributing and it includes challenging. And so

Dr. Plummer: I wanted a company that was psychologically safe, not just because we were therapists and educators,

Dr. Plummer: but because we're humans who are oftentimes

Dr. Plummer: oppressed

Dr. Plummer: in our work spaces. So Onyx needs to

Dr. Plummer: be the safe haven for people to come and to heal and to resolve and not just for my clients,

Dr. Plummer: for my counselors too. They matter so much to me also. They matter to me

Dr. Plummer: equally

Dr. Plummer: so of my clients.

And in this current atmosphere, it made me very appreciative of what I get to do,

who I get to work with, that I get to choose my work atmosphere. I was wondering, like,

how are you guys dealing with all that? Because you've got clients experiencing

and you've got staff experiencing at the same time.

And Piper, is your question based off of the

Dr. Plummer: business

Dr. Plummer: or is your question based off of the culture within the company?

It's based on the outer atmosphere of everything that's happening right now.

I would say, I mean, from a business perspective,

you're dealing with clients that because of what is happening

in our atmosphere right now and the government and all,

They're dealing with things that also your staff is probably experiencing a lot of too.

And they've got to help the clients.

And at the same time, I would imagine in the business, you're kind of probably coming up with ways of talking to each other to help you deal and keep your sanity right now with

what

is happening.

When

Dr. Plummer: I've been talking to people over the last, say, four months or so about what's going on and people are discouraged or, you know, losing hope,

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: remind them

Dr. Plummer: that

Dr. Plummer: our ancestors have lived through worse times than this.

Dr. Plummer: Our ancestors lived through slavery and brutalization.

Dr. Plummer: We

Dr. Plummer: experienced mass, you know,

Dr. Plummer: mass murder here, but

Dr. Plummer: they

Dr. Plummer: also went through public murder, right? Lynching on trees and

Dr. Plummer: public sanctions. And they were in segregation. And there were so many things that our ancestors

Dr. Plummer: lived through. And they already gave us the blueprint to make it through this, right?

Dr. Plummer: What

Dr. Plummer: it means is that we need to go back to some of our classic books because they all wrote in there. James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, they wrote, they told us what to do. Maya Angelou, they told us.

Dr. Plummer: We

Dr. Plummer: need to also talk to our elders, right, because they lived through it. And sometimes elders don't feel that their voices are valued because there's new technology and there's all this stuff.

Dr. Plummer: So what we do at Onyx is we lean back on community. We form community. I form community. I talk to my staff all the time. We have a group meet where we laugh and kiki. We have our emails. We have two meetings a month where they're learning and talking and spending time together.

Dr. Plummer: We have our quarterly gatherings and parties because we're international, so people have to come in town.

Dr. Plummer: But if I could make them feel good and safe and seen and heard, there's a parallel effect to that.

Dr. Plummer: In therapy, we call it isomorphism.

Dr. Plummer: When it's subconscious and we don't know what's going on, but what I give to my staff, they give to their clients, and the clients give that to their community and they give that to their family.

Dr. Plummer: When it's logical and we know what's going on, it's called parallel processing.

Dr. Plummer: It's like dropping a rock into a pond.

Dr. Plummer: I drop the rock.

Dr. Plummer: The first wave is my staff.

Dr. Plummer: The second wave is their clients.

Dr. Plummer: The third wave is the communities.

Dr. Plummer: And it just keeps expanding.

Dr. Plummer: So I have to be extremely grounded and focused in these times, which means I have boundaries

Dr. Plummer: around what I watch.

Dr. Plummer: I'm not on social media right now.

Dr. Plummer: I have boundaries on what I listen to.

Dr. Plummer: I listen to audiobooks.

Dr. Plummer: I don't listen to a lot of radio.

Dr. Plummer: I have boundaries and there's seven areas of boundaries that we have to have time and ego

Dr. Plummer: consumption you know there's there's a lot of them

Dr. Plummer: seven

Dr. Plummer: of them but I stay grounded so that as I am

Dr. Plummer: grounded I could build community and as I build community my staff can build community and as they

Dr. Plummer: build community their clients could build community and then community builds community and community

Dr. Plummer: I'm not a savior I don't want to make sure that I'm not sounding like some savior some Jesus in here

Dr. Plummer: What I am saying is I know what my role is in the work that I'm doing and I stay active in my role.

I

had a conversation a few weeks ago with a nonprofit leader who said very similar.

We have gone through this. Our communities have gone through this.

We are looking to our ancestors and the stories that came before us, how to survive this.

And, you know, I know, you know, coming from a white perspective and a brown perspective is very different.

Yeah. Not that poverty in your family wasn't also a blueprint.

Right. Because there is that. So it becomes a different story.

You know, in the black and brown communities, we are we are more connected to those ancestral stories.

Right.

It feels like to me, seeing folks reaction, it's like in the black and brown community, I'm seeing that.

Well, community's always been there in the white community.

I feel like that's not there. It's not necessarily ancestral, you know, dealing with and never talked

about if it was dealt with. So it's like all of a sudden there is this, oh my God, what do we do?

It's a little bit of hysteria, right? And so,

you know, I always feel like, you know,

the grounding. And I think it's amazing that you've been able to self-aware because not everybody is

self-aware enough. Now, hopefully most therapists are. They can bring these amazing classroom and

book learning that they've had and this curiosity that they can create a culture. And it sounds like

Onyx Therapy is an amazing place to be a part of and not just as a staff, but as a client, somebody

who is looking for wellness through you guys. So that is amazing.

I'm

going to pivot a little bit

here since we have just a little bit more time i'm talking just a little bit

Dr. Plummer: more time what okay

we're having a good time

Dr. Plummer: we're just getting to the fun okay all right are we gonna talk about

like

the podcast

yeah we spent a good couple hours with you and your friends on the couch

just oh

my god

so we got to learn what was going on with y'all and that was so much fun

and so i want to oh yeah the grown-ass women huh that's it that was it and and so like i love the

title and i'm gonna give you kudos because a lot of entrepreneurs are a little bit hesitant of being

in front right especially black and brown women are taught to you know don't show off don't you

know, toot your own horn. But at the same time, this was such great representation and honest

and so authentic because you guys, the group was authentic,

smart,

and funny and engaging.

And willing to

disclose. And

willing to disclose. And so like, that was so much fun to see from,

you know, somebody looks like me. I was like, what? This is so awesome. And so I want to say

that was amazing. And other than like the story that you said you were watching,

you guys were watching, not awkward black girl, but insecure. You're walking insecure with the

girlfriend, the split, which was like hilarious to me. I thought it was a funny origin story. But

before that, you do another podcast. What made you decide I need to do this?

Dr. Plummer: podcast with the grown-ass women in particular? Well,

sort of. We could start there, but the other

ones too. The more serious, the more focused ones.

I

Dr. Plummer: don't know if it's a parent here, but I'm an

Dr. Plummer: extrovert. I'm an extreme extrovert too. So I love to be outside. I want to talk to people. And like

Dr. Plummer: I mentioned, as a young person, I was always curious about who people were and who their

Dr. Plummer: decisions were. So I am a therapist because there's a career that aligns with who I naturally am,

Dr. Plummer: I didn't have to do anything extra to be,

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: didn't have to fit into the work.

Dr. Plummer: The other podcast, Spilling the Tea with Dr. P and On the Couch, those were because I want to hear about people.

Dr. Plummer: And I want people to understand the intersection between certain lives and mental health, certain experiences and mental health.

Dr. Plummer: There's one podcast on Spilling the Tea with Torrance Swain, and he is a mixologist, right?

Dr. Plummer: He makes drinks. That's what he was doing at the time. And we intersected that with therapy. What is the connection between libations and mental health? And there's many, you know, people, if they go overboard, it becomes a substance use issue. But if they're not overboard, it can have a different effect, right? And for some of us, you know, even the libations is an honor to our ancestors, you know,

Dr. Plummer: in

Dr. Plummer: certain neighborhoods, we say we pour a little liquor, right? But libations is, pouring libations is a part of ancestral connection.

Dr. Plummer: So spilling the tea and sitting on the couch were really about me engaging with the greater

Dr. Plummer: community about mental health thoughts and challenges.

Dr. Plummer: I did not like sitting on the couch because I was talking to a video.

Dr. Plummer: I wasn't engaging with anybody.

Dr. Plummer: So my team had questions for me to answer.

Dr. Plummer: And that's not my personality.

Dr. Plummer: I need to be with people.

Dr. Plummer: But now with grown-ass women, those are my best friends, right?

Dr. Plummer: Those are my girls.

Dr. Plummer: And we, Monique and Piper, when we get together, we are a mess.

Dr. Plummer: We are laughing and cracking jokes.

Dr. Plummer: And we're dropping wisdom.

Dr. Plummer: We all come from these different industries.

Dr. Plummer: And, you know, some of us, as you've seen on the podcast, we have Nikki, who is the dublet

Dr. Plummer: divorcee, right?

Dr. Plummer: Been married twice.

Dr. Plummer: And she brings that.

Dr. Plummer: And some are never been married.

Dr. Plummer: It's such a diverse group of people that sometimes, and they were all my friends individually.

Dr. Plummer: I

Dr. Plummer: brought them all together. And that's how we all became close friends. And then later we, you know, we had grown ass women. So that started because we were like, we are funny and people need to see this. Like, we are smart and people need to see this. Like, we're intellectual and people need to see this. And it was a counter to how some of media have been forming Black women friendships.

Dr. Plummer: There was always like these riffs. If I think about certain, I won't call the names out because I don't want us to get in any trouble, but there's certain shows that are centered on women and friendships and there's always some drama in there.

Dr. Plummer: And so we were like, what's the counter to this? How do we show healthy friendships? How do we show healthy debate? How do we have healthy dialogue? How do we correct each other in healthy ways? How do we connect this to mental health? How do we connect this to risk management? How do we connect this

Dr. Plummer: do

Dr. Plummer: y'all have a podcast? And we were like, yeah, we have a podcast, grown ass women. And it was

Dr. Plummer: four of the five of us that were there. Dr. Malone wasn't there. And they were like, we love you,

Dr. Plummer: right? Like this is it. And it's those moments that make us think like, you know what, we need

Dr. Plummer: to put the podcast back together because we've taken this hiatus and it needs to bring back,

Dr. Plummer: but it has impacts. We have random people coming up to us. I'm surprised you all watched it. I'm

Dr. Plummer: We have random people like,

Dr. Plummer: oh,

Dr. Plummer: you are Jani Moore's car, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like, you know these things and they connect to us.

Dr. Plummer: And because it's five of us, anybody will connect with at least one of us.

Dr. Plummer: You know what I mean?

Dr. Plummer: Like, they will see themselves in us.

Dr. Plummer: So, oh, my God, I can't wait.

Dr. Plummer: When I get off of here with you guys, I'm going to text them right now.

Dr. Plummer: And they are going to be cracking up.

Dr. Plummer: Like, okay, girl, when are we recording again?

Dr. Plummer: I know.

That was going to be like, okay, we know you're on hiatus.

and you're probably like it's a it's a big lift sometimes but sometimes when you're with your

friends it's not such a big lift it becomes like okay how do we afford the time but really you're

just been yeah it's just a good time together it becomes a little bit like you got to deal with the

tech and blah blah but i would say yeah bring it back we'll watch more

i'll

Dr. Plummer: tell them i'll tell them

Dr. Plummer: and we made it so fun i don't know if you all saw it on youtube or if you listen to it but even on

Dr. Plummer: YouTube where we recorded with video. And oh my gosh, I think Nikki was in charge of our outfits.

Dr. Plummer: So you saw we were color schemed and everything. Like we just made it so fun. We thought we were

Dr. Plummer: on a talk show. We thought we were like, we are on a talk show that is nationally syndicated.

Dr. Plummer: You were.

I mean, you were. It was like, it was, what was it? The autumn,

everybody had dressed in autumn colors. I don't remember.

Yes.

Dr. Plummer: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes. And

then for Christmas,

Dr. Plummer: holiday time, we were dressed in like

Dr. Plummer: Christmas, holiday attire and things like that.

Dr. Plummer: Just, you know, just having fun.

Dr. Plummer: And that's who we are when we get together.

Dr. Plummer: This is just so you can imagine what our text group looks like.

Dr. Plummer: Yes, I can imagine.

Dr. Plummer: I can imagine.

And so like there are certain things that we know in building a business, having the foundation

and taking mental health, having those boundaries, taking care of your staff so that you as the

owner, as the captain of the ship, as it were, can go and do bigger things and lean into your

strengths, which is your extra, extra extrovert, which I love. And so I am thankful and excited to

hear about what you're doing. You know, as a business owner, I'm amazed that you have built

the foundation for something that is so impactful, so close to us. And, you know, I don't know about

your industry, so I'm really amazed and glad to hear that there are so many folks doing this lift

to support a community, the Black, the Brown, the LGBTQ. So I am super happy to have you here today,

and thank you for your time.

And

we're excited to hear about the new book

coming out. Again,

The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women.

Yeah,

I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about your journey to the book.

We've got just a little bit more time.

Dr. Plummer: Okay, I'll make it brief because every story is a long story for me, right?

Dr. Plummer: Basically, I had it in my heart to write a book, but I thought I was writing a book about my life

Dr. Plummer: because people ask me questions about it because it's been a beautiful life.

Dr. Plummer: I truly love my life, but it had its ups and downs, of course.

Dr. Plummer: and so I thought that's what I was going to write the book about.

Dr. Plummer: I met a young woman who had a book already

Dr. Plummer: and we started talking about that.

Dr. Plummer: I had started drafting my book.

Dr. Plummer: We started talking about her book

Dr. Plummer: and she was like,

Dr. Plummer: Linnell, why don't I introduce you to my publisher?

Dr. Plummer: And I was like, no way, I'm not ready, right?

Dr. Plummer: Like my fear got in the way

Dr. Plummer: and I'm a therapist, right?

Dr. Plummer: I was able to label the fear.

Dr. Plummer: I knew what it was,

Dr. Plummer: but I was just like, oh my gosh,

Dr. Plummer: am I going to let fear get in the way?

Dr. Plummer: And so about an hour after that call ended,

Dr. Plummer: I went ahead and sent her an email with some of my thoughts.

Dr. Plummer: And she forwarded to the publisher.

Dr. Plummer: I met with that person on a Thursday.

Dr. Plummer: She forwarded to the publisher who called me on Friday,

Dr. Plummer: who then asked for us to have a meeting together on Tuesday.

Dr. Plummer: And by the end of that month, I had a book outline.

Dr. Plummer: That next month, I had everything submitted to Norton,

Dr. Plummer: and they went ahead and approved the contract.

Dr. Plummer: And

Dr. Plummer: about

Dr. Plummer: a month later, I had my, what is the, the contract was ready.

Dr. Plummer: And I had, I can't think of the term right now, but basically the first payment to the book.

Dr. Plummer: Your advance.

Dr. Plummer: My advance.

Dr. Plummer: And then I started writing and I've been writing.

Dr. Plummer: And funny enough, they don't often do it.

Dr. Plummer: Rarely do they do it.

Dr. Plummer: But the first book will come out pre-sell later this year.

Dr. Plummer: But in January, they went ahead and approved me for a second book.

Dr. Plummer: So they never sign for a second book unless the first book has been done.

Dr. Plummer: So I'm actually working on my second book right now, which is the Essential Guide for

Dr. Plummer: Diverse Clinical Supervision.

Dr. Plummer: So again, looking at the focus of the book

Dr. Plummer: is

Dr. Plummer: for clinicians who are doing supervision

Dr. Plummer: and development, but they are working with Black, Brown, women, and LGBTQ clients.

Dr. Plummer: So I am writing this book with my people in mind, with my Black women in mind, with my

Dr. Plummer: women in mind, with my brown folks in mind, with my women in mind in general, with my LGBTQ people

Dr. Plummer: in mind, I'm writing the book for us so that we get the development that we need. So it's been a

Dr. Plummer: beautiful process. And what's even cooler is that my publisher who works with me, her name is Deborah,

Dr. Plummer: she's also part of the LGBTQ community. So we get to vibe on supporting each other and she lifts me

Dr. Plummer: as she climbs

Dr. Plummer: as

Dr. Plummer: well. So now there will be two books that's written by me that'll be out published

Dr. Plummer: by Norton, and then we will work on the third book because my goal is now to have three books

Dr. Plummer: by time I'm 50. So I got a couple more years ahead of me. So I just write, I teach, I do therapy,

Dr. Plummer: I supervise, I build a business, I write, I exercise, I do all that fun stuff. But writing

Dr. Plummer: is joyful and it is new. Kudos.

And well-deserved. Well-deserved. You have put out a lot of energy.

Yeah. And so

tell

our audience how they could connect or work with you.

Dr. Plummer: Yeah, absolutely. So anyone, whether you are a client or a clinician and you want to practice

Dr. Plummer: with Onyx, whether you're a student and you want to attend the university that I go to or that I'm

Dr. Plummer: the department chair at,

Dr. Plummer: whether

Dr. Plummer: you want to read the book or you want any type of engagement with me,

Dr. Plummer: just simply reach out to me via the website.

Dr. Plummer: So the website is onyxtherapygroup.com,

Dr. Plummer: onyxtherapygroup.com.

Dr. Plummer: And at the end, there'll be a contact page.

Dr. Plummer: You just fill out your information in the contact page

Dr. Plummer: and within 24 hours, somebody will reach out.

Dr. Plummer: I love the work I get to do in media.

Dr. Plummer: So it's funny to say it,

Dr. Plummer: but there's been so much work

Dr. Plummer: that I've had the opportunity to do.

Dr. Plummer: So simply put my name in your

Dr. Plummer: internet,

Dr. Plummer: Google search, right?

Dr. Plummer: or whatever search you use, but put in my name, Dr. Linnell R. Plummer.

Dr. Plummer: On social media, you can follow me on Instagram, Dr. Linnell Plummer and Onyx Therapy Group.

Dr. Plummer: LinkedIn, Dr. Linnell Plummer and Onyx Therapy Group.

Dr. Plummer: YouTube, Onyx Therapy Group.

Dr. Plummer: The podcast, Onyx Therapy Group.

Dr. Plummer: Everything is branded Onyx Therapy Group, so it's easy to find me and the work that I'm doing.

You see why I said badass at the beginning.

So

like

everything, got

it covered.

Got it covered.

Well, thank you for taking the time out today to be with us.

I'm really glad we connected.

We'll see you next time.

I'm so excited.

Thank you so much.

I'll see you guys later.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change the Real.

If you liked the episode, follow us, share it, or hop on podchaser.com and leave us a review.

And remember, representation starts here.

Hasta pronto! See you soon!