Lourdes Valdes, Ph.D.

06/05/2026

Baby blues or postpartum depression — do you know the difference?

Most new moms expect some emotional turbulence after birth. But there’s an important distinction between the “baby blues” — which affect about 8 in 10 new moms and typically fade within two weeks — and postpartum depression, a more serious condition that requires real support and treatment.

This AP article does a great job breaking down the warning signs: sadness that lingers beyond two weeks, difficulty bonding with baby, intense guilt, anxiety, inability to sleep, and in some cases, thoughts of self-harm. And the numbers are striking — rates of PPD have more than doubled in the past decade.

If you or someone you love is struggling after welcoming a new baby, please know you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through it. Effective treatment exists, and reaching out is one of the best things you can do — for yourself and your baby.

Questions about anxiety or mood concerns? I work with adults, teens, and families in Katy and West Houston — in English and Spanish. Feel free to reach out at drvaldes.net.

https://apnews.com/article/postpartum-depression-baby-blues-pregnancy-79044a524a59810b23422c5b24b3b596

Postpartum depression is a potentially dangerous condition that can fill a typically joyous time with despair. The mood disorder has been on the rise.

05/22/2026

05/19/2026

Have you ever felt that some things are just too deep for words? That's exactly what this project is about.

Lorís Simón Salum, a Houston-area licensed counselor and C.G. Jung Institute training candidate, is inviting adults to take part in a fascinating research study on sandtray therapy — a creative, nonverbal approach that can open doors talk therapy sometimes can't.

The sessions are completely free, separate from your regular therapy, and your identity will be fully protected. It's a rare opportunity to explore your inner world in a meaningful way, while contributing to important research.

If you are currently in ongoing psychotherapy and are curious about going deeper, we'd love for you to reach out. Visit www.lorissimon.com, call 832.844.5662, or email [email protected] to learn more.

05/10/2026

05/08/2026

A+ parenting ❤️

05/05/2026

Me da mucho gusto compartir un nuevo post sobre algo que es profundamente importante para mi: lo que significa ser un consultorio de psicología bilingüe en Katy y el oeste de Houston.

Para muchas personas, hablar sobre experiencias emocionales e íntimas en su idioma preferido marca una diferencia enorme. En este post, reflexiono sobre porqué la atención bilingüe importa, y cómo el crear un espacio acogedor tanto en inglés como en español ayuda a los clientes a sentirse más comprendidos, respetados y a gusto.

Lo puedes leer aquí:

Por Lourdes Valdés, PhD Katy y el oeste de Houston son comunidades que no dejan de crecer, y con ese crecimiento llega una riqueza cultural enorme. Aquí conviven personas y familias de muchos orígenes distintos, incluyendo muchísimos hispanohablantes con historias, tradiciones y raíces muy dife...

05/02/2026

Something has quietly shifted in our kindergarten classrooms, and it’s worth talking about. In the 1950s, kindergarten looked very different. Five-year-olds spent their days building things, pretending, exploring, making friends, and figuring out how the world worked. The goal wasn’t academic achievement — it was childhood.

Today, many kindergartens look a lot like what first grade used to be. Worksheets. Sight words. Measurable outcomes. And while the intentions behind these changes are good, the research keeps pointing us back to something simple: young children learn best through play.

Not play as a reward. Not play as a break. Play as the actual vehicle for learning.

When children play, they are building language, practicing self-control, solving problems, negotiating with other kids, and developing the emotional resilience that will carry them through decades of real challenge. These aren’t soft skills. They are the foundation everything else gets built on.

Early academic pressure can produce short-term gains. But some studies suggest those gains level out — while the stress and the lost developmental time don’t.

The question worth sitting with isn’t how early we can get children to perform. It’s what a five-year-old brain genuinely needs to thrive — not just this year, but twenty years from now.

For most children, the answer still looks a lot like a sandbox, a good friend, and enough time to figure things out on their own.

Play and learning should be one and the same, experts say.

04/30/2026

Several times a week, my phone rings. On the other end is someone desperate for mental health support — someone who has done their homework, checked their insurance network, and found my name on Blue Cross Blue Shield’s provider list. There’s just one problem: I haven’t been in-network with BCBS since 2021. I break the news gently. I watch the confusion and frustration come through in their voices. They’re not wrong — my name IS on the list. But the list is wrong.

I’ve contacted Blue Cross Blue Shield multiple times asking to be removed. Nothing has changed. And now I understand why: insurance companies take their time to take providers off their lists. They have every incentive to keep their provider lists as long as possible. A longer list means more people choose their plan at enrollment. It doesn’t matter if those providers aren't actually available to you once you’ve paid your premiums. This is called a “ghost network” — and it’s not a glitch. It’s a pattern.

Every time I get one of these calls, I do my best to help the person find a mental health provider who actually takes their insurance. But that’s time none of us should have to spend. And for someone already struggling and reaching out for help, hitting wall after wall can be devastating. The people hurt by ghost networks aren’t statistics. They’re our neighbors, our family members, people working up the courage to ask for help — only to find the system has misled them.

NBC News did an important piece on this. I hope you’ll read it and share it. 👇

Insurance companies often refer patients to lists of providers who are unreachable or out of network or don’t accept new patients.