Leilani Hinton, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Leilani Hinton is the Director of Psychology for the Texas Behavioral Health Center.

A graduate of the UT Southwestern Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program, Dr. Hinton returned to UT Southwestern after 15 years of distinguished service with the Dallas County Juvenile Justice Department, where she served as Assistant Chief Psychologist. In this role, she oversaw the clinical and supervisory operations of the Clinical Services Division, conducted forensic competency evaluations, and developed and lead the department’s Clinical Internship Program as Training Director.

Dr. Hinton previously served as a Volunteer Adjunct Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern from 2014 to 2020 supervising practicum students rotating through the Juvenile Department. Her earlier training includes community mental health crisis, and accredited internships with Parkland Health Hospital, where she worked within the outpatient clinic, assessment service and consult-liaison psychiatry service. In addition to being a licensed psychologist, Dr. Hinton is a licensed chemical dependency counselor (LCDC) and a licensed sex offender treatment provider (LSOTP). She is also certified in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and problematic sexual behavior-cognitive behavioral therapy (PSB-CBT). From 2020 to 2025, she served as Grant Manager for the Dallas County Assessment, Stabilization, and Advancement Program for Trafficked Girls (ASAP) and from 2016-2018 as Grant Manager for Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT).

Dr. Hinton has been actively engaged in community leadership, serving on several boards and task forces, including the Governor’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center Advisory Council, and the Dallas County Opioid Task Force. In recognition of her advocacy work, she received the Advocacy Award from Traffick911 in 2024.