The Healing Virtues of Virtual Healing: Telehealth in the Present and Future of Mental Healthcare
Ley David Elliette Cray, Ph.D., (she/her) is Director of LGBTQIA+ Programming at Charlie Health, the first fully virtual provider of intensive outpatient therapy for young adults and adolescents. Ley is a certified philosophical consultant registered with the National Philosophical Counseling Association as well as a certified mindfulness instructor trained through the Center for Koru Mindfulness. She is a yoga instructor registered with the Yoga Alliance and certified in trauma-informed yoga as well as adaptable/accessible yoga practice. Through the Sexual Health Alliance, Ley is currently further enriching her practice by completing her certification in Sexuality Counseling.
After receiving her Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2012, Ley built an internationally recognized research portfolio and taught classes on topics including gender and sexuality, meaning in life, Buddhist thought, comics books, and more. Her career in higher education has included work at the Ohio State University, Grand Valley State University, and Texas Christian University, as well as speaking engagements around the world.
Upon accepting herself as a person of transgender identity, Ley knew she needed to do more: she started leading Trans Yoga classes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as offering virtual Queer Mindfulness classes and retreats. Before long, she joined Charlie Health’s staff as a contemplative practitioner, bringing these and other offerings to LGBTQIA+ youth struggling with mental health and substance use. With time, effort, and passion, this position morphed into her current role as Director of LGBTQIA+ Programming, through which she is grateful to have the privilege of helping young adults and adolescents move forward and thrive.
As an educator and scholar, an author and activist, an artist and a healer, Ley puts advocacy for LGBTQIA+ communities before all else. She currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas, where in her carefully guarded spare time, she reads a lot of comics, plays a lot of video games, and watches a lot of horror movies with her lovely family of dogs and cats.
