Alexis Valdez, LMFT

To say Alexis changed the trajectory of our son’s life would be an understatement.  She gained his trust through genuine care for his overall well-being.  -Telos parent

Alexis brings a uniquely comprehensive perspective to her role at Telos, shaped by years of experience across multiple facets of the organization. She began as a Residential Mentor, working closely with students in their daily environments and implementing treatment plans in real time—an experience that gave her a deep, practical understanding of how meaningful change actually takes root.

She later transitioned into Human Resources, where she played a key role in training and developing high-level staff, strengthening the overall quality of care across the program. This experience sharpened her ability to think systemically—not only about individual students, but about the teams and environments that support them.

After earning her advanced degree, Alexis expanded her clinical experience in an outpatient setting, specializing in substance use, anxiety, and depression. She then returned to Telos as a Primary Therapist, bringing together her frontline experience, organizational insight, and clinical expertise into a highly integrated approach.

Alexis specializes in working with adolescents and young adults and has extensive experience helping youth navigate a broad range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. Her areas of expertise include substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, trauma, and autism spectrum differences. She is passionate about helping young people better understand themselves, build resilience, strengthen relationships, and develop the skills needed to thrive in everyday life.

In addition, Alexis has advanced training in supporting youth with executive functioning challenges and slower processing speeds. She works closely with students who struggle with organization, planning, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, attention, and processing information efficiently. Through individualized support and practical skill-building, she helps students develop greater independence, confidence, and success across academic, social, and personal settings.

Alexis is particularly effective in viewing treatment through a systems-based lens, helping families create meaningful, sustainable change that extends well beyond a student’s time in treatment. She understands that lasting progress requires alignment across the individual, the family, and the broader support system—and she works intentionally to facilitate that alignment. Her experience working with neurodiverse youth and families allows her to help parents better understand their child’s unique strengths, challenges, and developmental needs.

Known for her energy, authenticity, and relational depth, Alexis builds connections that are both immediate and impactful. Her work is grounded in a simple but powerful principle: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Through warmth, presence, and genuine investment, she creates the kind of relationships that invite real transformation.

Whether helping a young person navigate substance use, depression, anxiety, trauma, autism spectrum-related challenges, or executive functioning difficulties, Alexis brings compassion, expertise, and a deep commitment to helping youth and families achieve lasting growth and meaningful change.