Today we’d like to introduce you to Ye Beverly Du.
Ye Beverly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My first job out of residency was as Medical Director of an Intensive Outpatient Program in Houston. I loved the impact I was making on patients who were acutely in need of care, and the autonomy I had in shaping the program. I quickly realized that I thrived in roles where I could be innovative, creative, and impactful. Soon after I took on the role of Clerkship Director of Psychiatry at Baylor Medical School where I restructured the teaching of psychiatry to medical students. I also became the Psychotherapy Program Director of the Psychiatry Residency where I revamped the way residents learned psychotherapy. During this time, I started my own boutique private practice with a focus on therapy alongside the use of medications. I was recruited by the J. Flowers Health Institute to be their expert psychiatric consultant and provided assessments of complex and treatment resistant patients. During the pandemic I was also recruited to serve as Behavioral Health Lead of K Health, a startup at the time that delivered virtual primary care. I worked with a multidisciplinary team to develop an approach to providing behavioral healthcare in a scalable and responsible way. Since 2022 I have scaled back my leadership roles and focused on my private practice and raising my 3 beautiful children. Now that my youngest has started preschool, I have begun to reengage in the community of healthcare leaders and innovators in hopes of finding more ways to contribute to improving access to quality mental healthcare.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of the toughest moments in my career was when I had to choose between work that I loved and time with my family. Shortly after my second child was born, I realized I wanted to be present for my children more than my professional roles were allowing. I tried for a time to make it work, and I feared that if I were to step down, I would not be able to find similar opportunities in the future. It took a great deal of struggle and acceptance for me to finally step down from those roles to be available for my children in the way I wanted to be.
Another challenge has been facing differences in values between myself and the institutions I was serving, and having to decide what to do about those differences. Working within institutions and companies, there were inevitable disagreements and differences in opinion. Compromise, collaboration, and advocacy are critical. However, I’ve come across some periods when I realized that an institution’s bottom line was constantly butting against my core values, and I found myself having to regularly work against my instincts. I struggled with how much to value my own beliefs, the fear of losing out on exciting opportunities, and the fear of losing colleagues I enjoyed working with. After much processing and grief, I finally make the decisions to leave these organizations. And through this journey, I have gained more clarity about who I am and what I stand for.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m the founder and owner of a concierge private practice in psychiatry and psychotherapy. I started this practice in 2015 in Texas and have since expanded my practice to NC and VA. I see adults with a wide range of ages and backgrounds, many of whom have high-intensity professional roles. My practice stands out in that I offer hands on, personalized, attentive care of clients, with a strong focus on psychotherapy. My clients have direct access to me seven days a week via my cell phone. My approach is based in psychodynamic psychotherapy, otherwise known as insight-oriented therapy, interwoven with Eastern contemplative thought and mindfulness. Through my years of personal and professional study of mindfulness, I have come to realize numerous parallels between Eastern philosophy and psychodynamic principles, and that they compliment each other beautifully. Over the years I have gradually integrated these two schools of thought in my approach, which has empowered me to help my clients more holistically. I also have training in CBT, DBT and ACT which also broadens my ability to address situations that psychodynamic psychotherapy alone may not fully support. Overall, I see myself as having a wide array of perspectives from which to connect with my clients.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My family always comes first. Of the different jobs I’ve held, being a mother remains the most important one. Of all the people in the world, I and my husband have the most influence on our children’s lives, and who they become. What I do day to day in my work with clients is helping them recover from their unmet needs as children, so it is critical that I do my best to meet the needs of my own children first.
Secondly, I want to leave the world a better place than I found it. Whether that means one client at a time, teaching future physicians, or improving access to mental healthcare across large populations. I believe it is in our nature as human beings to care for others, and I want to be true to this aspect of myself. I also feel I have enjoyed a privileged life with access to wonderful opportunities and loving friends and family. I want to help others find the same in their lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beverlydu.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yebeverlydu
