Por Lourdes Valdés, PhD En una comunidad diversa y en constante crecimiento como Katy, Texas y West Houston, el idioma tiene una gran importancia. En esta parte de Houston viven muchas personas y familias de distintos orígenes culturales, incluyendo una amplia comunidad de personas hispanohablantes que vienen de diferentes países […]
Mindful Musings (blog)
By Lourdes Valdes, PhD In a diverse and growing community like Katy and West Houston, language matters deeply. This part of the Houston area is home to many individuals and families from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including many Spanish-speaking residents from different countries and traditions. For that reason, […]
What It Truly Means to Be a Bilingual Psychology Practice ...
1 By Lourdes Valdés, PhD Young adulthood is often talked about as an exciting time—more independence, new opportunities, and the chance to start building a life of one’s own. But for many young adults and their families, this transition can feel far more complicated than expected. College, work, dating, and independent […]
Supporting Connection in Young Adulthood: Why Social Skills Matter
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. When your college student comes home for winter break, it’s so normal to imagine it will feel easy—like slipping back into something familiar. There’s a sweet moment many families look forward to: the hug at the door, the familiar laugh from down the hall, the sense […]
Winter Break “Re-entry”: When Your College Student Comes Home
1 By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. The devastating Central Texas floods of July 2025 have become one of the most tragic natural disasters in Texas history. The severe flooding in the Kerr County/Kerrville/Hunt area has already claimed over 100 lives—many of them children attending a summer camp. Though the flooding occurred miles […]
After the Disaster: Supporting Children and Families Through the Central ...
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. María, an active adolescent, has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. She is having difficulty eating the right foods, taking her insulin, and monitoring her blood sugar. Max, who is 18-months old, has begun to eat less and less. As a result, he is now considerably underweight […]
Pediatric Psychology: Compassionate Care for Children’s Health
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. Human beings are naturally wired for connection. From childhood through adulthood, our relationships deeply shape our emotional world, our capacity for empathy, and how we view ourselves. Healthy relationships don’t just support emotional growth. They also boost our physical health by offering protection against illness and […]
Group Therapy Helps Kids and Teens Build Stronger Connections
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. As a psychologist, I get many calls each week with specific and important questions: Do you see children? Do you take insurance? Are you accepting new clients? When someone reaches out with questions like these, I’m always glad to return the call as soon as I […]
Why I Don’t Say Too Much on Voicemail — And ...
By Lourdes Valdés, PhD When we think about what should be included in a thorough ADHD evaluation, most clinicians and experts highlight several key components. These typically include a detailed clinical interview with both the individual and their family, standardized rating scales of symptoms (such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression) […]
Could It Be Sleep? The Crucial Step Often Missed in ...
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. Therapy confidentiality in the age of AI is facing new challenges. At a time when technology seems to be everywhere, it’s no surprise that some therapists have begun recording therapy sessions to generate AI-driven notes. These recorded files are then transcribed and analyzed by software programs […]
Recording Therapy Sessions: Not the Choice for Me
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. Social media is wonderful and powerful. It allows us to share our day-to-day lives with family and friends, to learn about current events quickly, and to get personal first-hand accounts of major news stories immediately. Social media is so powerful, that it is credited with triggering […]
Social Media: Temptation, Addiction, and Control
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. Thanksgiving is coming quickly and the winter holidays are just around the corner. The holidays are a time of great joy but sometimes, they can also be a time of anxiety and sadness. Oftentimes, we feel alone, and we miss loved ones. While holidays are not […]
Giving Thanks Makes Us Happier
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. As parents, one of our most important jobs is to work ourselves out of a job. And a big part of that often involves encouraging our children towards more independence in solving their own problems. Problem-solving is often not easy. Impulsivity, a strong tendency to […]
Encouraging Children to Solve Their Own Problems
By Lourdes Valdés, Ph.D. For Samantha to study, her notebook must be exactly aligned with the edge of the desk. She must line up all books on her desk in height order. Her pens and pencils must be lying down next to one another, and they must be aligned […]