Hello! My name is Cliff…or Cliffard (either works for me). I am a career development coach, identity informed leadership consultant, and behavioral health professional based in Fort Mohave, Arizona. My work focuses on helping helpers, leaders, and community mental health professionals understand their identity, strengthen their confidence, and build sustainable careers without losing themselves in the process.

My coaching practice is built on the belief that identity shapes how people work, lead, communicate, and respond to pressure. When people understand their identity patterns, they gain clarity, stability, and direction. My role is to help clients uncover those patterns and use them to build careers that feel grounded, meaningful, and aligned with who they are.

Although I am a Licensed Associate Counselor, therapy is not offered through this coaching practice. My clinical background informs my understanding of identity, burnout, and workplace strain, but coaching remains a separate, non clinical service focused on professional growth, leadership development, and career clarity.

I currently serve as a Public Healthcare Consultant with AHCCCS Division of Fee for Service Management. I evaluate medical necessity, support providers and tribal partners, and contribute to quality assurance and regulatory compliance. This role has strengthened my commitment to clarity, integrity, and equitable access to care within the Arizona Medicaid system.

Before this role, I coordinated the Community Mental Health Block Grant for the State of Arizona. I supported SAMHSA aligned initiatives and helped build collaborative, person centered projects across rural communities. I have also worked across crisis services, residential substance use treatment, outpatient care, care coordination, and administrative leadership. These experiences shaped my understanding of the pressures helpers face and the identities they develop to survive the work.

My career began at the ground level, working directly with vulnerable populations in rural Arizona. I learned the realities of behavioral health from lived experience. I worked with individuals navigating homelessness, addiction, psychosis, trauma, and recovery. I supported clients in crisis, transported high risk individuals across the state, and learned how identity, fear, and hope shape the human experience. These experiences continue to inform my coaching and leadership work today.

I am the author of multiple publications, both independent and hybrid publishing models. All were written to help helpers understand their identity, their emotional landscape, and the quiet doubts they carry. My work has been recognized with the International Impact Book Award and multiple regional awards for service in community mental health.

My mission is simple. Help helpers stay, grow, and lead with confidence, clarity, and identity centered strength.

Coaching Specialties

• Career development for community mental health workers

• Identity centered leadership coaching

• Burnout prevention and recovery planning

• Workplace identity mapping

• Professional confidence building

• Communication and boundary coaching

• Change response and adaptability coaching

• Career clarity and direction setting

Professional Specialties

• Identity centered counseling

• Burnout recovery and prevention

• Anxiety and emotional regulation

• Multicultural and culturally responsive care

• Trauma informed practice

• Imposter syndrome in helping professions

• Leadership identity development

• Workplace identity mapping

• Rural behavioral health systems

• Crisis level communication and stabilization

Education

• Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Grand Canyon University

• Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Organizational Leadership - Forbes School of Business

• Bachelor of Science in Business Accounting Technology and Financial Accounting - ITT Technical Institute

Licensure and Credentials

• Licensed Associate Counselor Arizona - Board of Behavioral Health Examiners

• Certified Trauma Professional

• Certified Anxiety Informed Professional

• Triple P Positive Parenting Program Level 4 Group

• Internal Family Systems Therapy Competency Course - PESI

• Personality Disorders Certification Training - PESI

Professional Experience

Current Roles

• Public Healthcare Consultant - AHCCCS Division of Fee for Service Management

• Practice Manager and Therapist - Fearless Journey Counseling and Consulting PLLC

• Owner/Coach - Cliffard Mayo Coaching & Consulting

• Author/Writer

• Dad/Husband/Son/Brother/Uncle….Family man.

Previous Roles

• Community Mental Health Block Grant Coordinator - State of Arizona

• Substance Use Disorder Residential Therapist

• Crisis Interventionist

• Adult Care Coordinator

• Housing Specialist

• Case Manager for adult and child populations

• Behavioral Health Paraprofessional

• Front Desk Representative

• Behavioral Health Driver for non medical transport

Lived Experience and Non Official Expertise

These experiences shaped my identity informed leadership model and my therapeutic approach.

• Homeless population support

• Informal crisis navigation

• Serious Mental Illness communication and rapport building

• Court Ordered Treatment exposure

• Veterans and Drug Treatment Court collaboration

• High risk behavioral health transport

• Motivational interviewing in non clinical settings

• Vicarious trauma processing

• Rural behavioral health systems knowledge

• Identity development through lived experience

• Emotional pressure of frontline community mental health work

Publications

• So, You Want to Work in Mental Health?: The Good, The Bad, The Unforgettable - Page Publishing

• The Strength You Already Carry: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in the Helping Professions - Kindle Direct Publishing

• The Power People Think We Have: Reframing Responsibility, Vulnerability, and Identity in the Helping Professions - Kindle Direct Publishing

• Reclaim Your Identity: Understanding and Transforming Imposter Syndrome - Kindle Direct Publishing

• Reclaim Your Identity: Men’s Mental Health Edition - Kindle Direct Publishing

• Reclaim Your Identity: A Companion Journal - Kindle Direct Publishing

• Music, Meaning & Me: A Therapeutic Group Curriculum - Kindle Direct Publishing

• Imposter Identity Lab: Recovery Edition: A Therapeutic Group Curriculum - Kindle Direct Publishing