Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Meditation Practice and Creating Art
Languages
Timeline
Generic

Kim Valdes

Alpharetta,GA

Summary

Compassionate, hardworking and dedicated licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist with 8 years of experience and over 15 years in the mental health field. Organized and dependable with a successful counseling practice since 2015 maintaining high standards and quality of care. Services include counseling, meditation, and coaching in person or telehealth. A focus on child, adolescent, and family therapy with evidence based play therapy and trauma informed interventions. Training in sandtray play and relational/interpersonal neurobiology. Knowledge and skilled decreasing anxiety and depression with clients.

Overview

6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Child, Adolescent & Family Therapist

The Heart Way Holistic Coaching & Counseling (DBA)
04.2021 - Current
  • Built solid and trusting rapport with children and families, fostering trust and communication to meet individualized needs.
  • Provide bilingual (Spanish) individualized counseling sessions with children and families.
  • Facilitated family meetings to ensure communication and collaboration between family members.
  • Completed intakes and assessments of families to identify needs and develop treatment plans.
  • Utilized DSM-V for diagnosing and developing treatment plans.
  • Developed and implemented play therapy strategies and interventions to reduce anger, anxiety, reduce family stress and increase connections.
  • Educate parents and children on brain and nervous system based on IPNB model approach to understand anxiety and mind-body connection.
  • Educate adolescent on depression and anxiety, build coping skills, CBT skills, and problem solving strategies with peer group challenges.
  • Intervened in crisis situations and counseled children experiencing emergencies and disruptive incidents in office or telehealth with SI assessment, safety plans, or hospitalization.
  • Arranged medical and psychiatric tests to identify difficulties and indicate potential remedial approaches.
  • Provided parents and family sessions to build communications, learning emotional communication skills, problem solving skills, and playful connection.
  • Facilitated children's groups to address specific needs such as mindfulness skills, emotional skills, and social skills to support positive behavior and social emotional development.
  • Developed IPNB/Relational therapy groups for adults blending meditation & art.
  • Developed biweekly meditation groups for adults/parents to reduce and release stress and anxiety and increase calm, peace, and grounding.
  • Provide holistic coaching for anxiety & depression for adults.
  • Documented data and completed accurate updates to maintain clinical documentation records and standards.
  • Develop discharge plans and provide resources after termination of treatment.

Child, Adolescent & Family Therapist

The HealingCenter For Children,Adolescent,Families
08.2017 - 04.2021
  • Provided bilingual (Spanish) individual counseling to children, adolescent and adults in-person or telehealth with positive results and outcomes based on parent and child reports and meeting treatment goals.
  • Utilized DSM-V for diagnosing and conducting psycho-social assessments and developing treatment plans.
  • Applied psychotherapeutic techniques and interventions in delivery of services to individuals and families to treat diagnosed emotional and mental disorders of ADD/ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Autism, ODD.
  • Participated in treatment team meetings and collaborated with other service providers (school administrators, teachers, psychologist, pediatricians, therapists, child advocates) to facilitate services for client as noted in treatment plans.
  • Managed and Monitored crisis situations implementing intervention, safety plans, and referral for hospitalization of SI.
  • Provided play therapy and expressive arts as therapeutic modalities for trauma, anxiety, and depression.
  • Providing culturally sensitive and competent skills to working with parents by remaining sensitive to different families' cultures, values and needs.
  • Constructed age-appropriate goals and outcomes to assist children with special needs, developmental delays or neurodiverse.
  • Provided information on developmental milestones to coach families on incorporating modeled interventions into children's daily routines.
  • Developing problem-solving and communication skills to increase social skills with children and adolescent.
  • Provided bilingual service (Spanish), community resources and education to families to increase knowledge and advocacy skills.
  • Linking children and adolescent to resources or other therapeutic services as part of termination process.

Education

Certificate - Play Therapy

Capella University
Minneapolis, MN
12.2013

Master of Arts - Community Counseling

Argosy University, Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
10.2011

Master of Science - Social Work

Iona College
New Rochelle, NY
05.1999

Skills

  • Identifying and Building Emotion/Feeling Skills
  • Meditation
  • Mind, Body, and Spirit Approach
  • Interpersonal Neurobiology
  • Behavior Management
  • Cognitive Behavior Practices
  • Play Therapy
  • Trauma Informed Techniques
  • Youth Crisis Interventions & Management
  • Coaching
  • Cultural Sensitivity
  • Counseling Best Practices
  • Treatment Planning
  • Telehealth

Certification

  • Global Holistic Association of Holistic Psychotherapy & Coaching (GAHP) as a Certified Holistic Psychotherapy & Coaching Training-Level 1- June 2021
  • LPC-S - Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor Credentialed- since 2019
  • RPT-S- Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor Credentialed since July 2019

Meditation Practice and Creating Art

I am a life long meditator since 1996. In 2005 I began practicing with a spiritual psychologist from Emory and a teacher from Malaysia with a focused Daoist form of meditation. I have brought my knowledge and practice of this type of meditation to my counseling work as well as developing groups for meditation since 2015 that are held in my office currently twice a month for adults. I also share short silent mindfulness crystal bowl experiences with children in their group work. 

Languages

Spanish
Native or Bilingual

Timeline

Child, Adolescent & Family Therapist

The Heart Way Holistic Coaching & Counseling (DBA)
04.2021 - Current

Child, Adolescent & Family Therapist

The HealingCenter For Children,Adolescent,Families
08.2017 - 04.2021

Certificate - Play Therapy

Capella University

Master of Arts - Community Counseling

Argosy University, Atlanta

Master of Science - Social Work

Iona College
  • Global Holistic Association of Holistic Psychotherapy & Coaching (GAHP) as a Certified Holistic Psychotherapy & Coaching Training-Level 1- June 2021
  • LPC-S - Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor Credentialed- since 2019
  • RPT-S- Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor Credentialed since July 2019
Kim Valdes