Mind Therapy Clinic welcomes Christine Valdez, Clinical Psychologist and PTSD expert to the team.

Dr. Valdez is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in empirically supported treatments for trauma-related issues, including post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. She specializes in individual and group therapy for adults who have experienced interpersonal trauma.

Dr. Valdez primarily practices from a cognitive-behavioral approach and uses a life-span framework to understand how individuals form patterns of thinking about the world and their place within it based on their unique experiences, especially during key developmental periods in their life.

Because therapy involves an intimate relationship, Dr. Valdez relies heavily on the collaboration between herself and clients to test existing realities and develop healthier ways of relating to the world.  She strives to create a therapeutic environment where clients feel respected and understood, and thus ready and open for change.

Dr. Valdez has worked with a myriad of diverse clients, receiving advanced graduate training in the Trauma Services Program at the Hines VA Hospital in Illinois, and completing her pre-doctoral clinical internship and postdoctoral clinical and research fellowship at the SFGH/UCSF Trauma Recover Center.

In addition to working with clients at the Mind Therapy Clinic, Dr. Valdez is passionate about teaching and research.   She is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at CSU Monterey Bay, where she teaches Psychopathology and conducts research on psychological trauma. She regularly publishes peer-reviewed research articles in the area of trauma and post-traumatic stress, and uses her scientific knowledge of trauma to inform her clinical practice. Generally, Dr. Valdez uses an empirically-based approach to helping her clients in their recovery.