Hello, and welcome to my website! I am a licensed psychologist specializing in anxiety with almost 30 years of experience. While I specialize in treating anxiety in children and adolescents, I also love working with adults. In addition to my work with anxiety, I have extensive experience in treating and managing a variety of disorders. These include OCD, phobias, ADHD, feeding issues (in young children), elimination disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. I use behavioral and cognitive methods that have clear scientific support for their effectiveness. My methods are active, compassionate, and educative and aim at solving the problems that the client faces here and now. Families find ways to more positively interact with their children and more effectively manage and nurture their behavior.
For almost two decades, I facilitated social skills groups for school- and middle school-age children. I am certified in the UCLA PEERS® group method and am a trained provider of SPACE® (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). SPACE is an innovative and effective program that helps families more effectively and supportively manage child anxiety. I am also trained in ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy®), a fairly new evidence-based therapy that provides rapid and effective relief from the effects of trauma, anxiety, and other struggles. Equally fluent in English and Spanish, I have received specialized training in pediatric psychology.
My practice embraces diversity and inclusion. I foster an open, welcoming environment and provide affirming care for people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. You are most welcome here, and you can rest assured that this is a safe space. I do not support or engage in conversion therapy, as it is harmful and is not founded in science.
In addition to being a licensed psychologist specializing in anxiety in my home state of Texas, I hold an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT). This means that I can provide telehealth services to clients residing in or visiting a number of other states. You may see the real-time map of PSYPACT® participating states here. To verify Dr. Valdes’s current APIT status, please visit https://www.verifypsypact.org/.
After receiving my doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, I went on to receive postdoctoral training in pediatric psychology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. During graduate school, my clinical research included: behavior disorders in children with developmental disabilities, correlates of postpartum depression, and toddlers’ development of a sense of self. My memberships in the American Psychological Association, the Society of Pediatric Psychology, the Texas Psychological Association, the Houston Psychological Association, and the Houston Group Psychotherapy Society keep me connected to my colleagues and updated on the latest research in my area. I serve on the professional advisory board for the Attention Deficit Disorder Association Southern Region (ADDA-SR), a community organization supporting individuals impacted by ADHD.
I manage my practice personally, responding to phone calls and email communications directly and timely.
