DES MOINES, IA, November 2, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Antonia Valadez, LISW, has been recognized for achievement in healthcare and mental health.

Ms. Valadez currently serves as a mental health therapist and owner of Antonia L Valadez, LISW, LLC, in Des Moines, Iowa, where she has managed her independent client-service practice since 2020. She established her business at the onset of the pandemic, a period she regards as fortuitous for launching a telehealth-capable practice. Ms. Valadez is responsible for setting daily office hours, structuring appointments around client needs and maintaining a caseload of approximately five to six appointments per day. She prioritizes a welcoming and supportive environment for her clients, which includes the presence of her companion dog, Petunia, who offers comfort during sessions.

Drawing on more than a decade of clinical experience, Ms. Valadez's expertise encompasses trauma treatment — including single-incident, lifetime, relational and childhood trauma — as well as brainspotting and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. She treats clients ranging from children as young as five through adults across the lifespan. She is recognized for her preferred therapeutic approach of brainspotting, a method developed by Dr. David Grand that emphasizes mindful reflection associated with specific eye positions while addressing trauma. Her dedication to being fully present and emotionally attuned to each client is central to her practice philosophy.

Prior to establishing her private practice, Ms. Valadez spent nearly four years as a community schools coordinator with Des Moines Public Schools from 2017 to 2021. In this multifaceted role based at East High School, she focused on connecting community services with students and their families. Her responsibilities included managing a community food pantry and clothing closet and organizing volunteer hours for students completing silver cord graduation requirements.

Concurrently, from 2017 to 2020, Ms. Valadez served as a mental health therapist at Synergy Clinical Services in Des Moines. In this capacity, she provided therapy services while further developing her clinical skills in trauma-focused modalities.

From 2016 to 2017, Ms. Valadez worked as a mental health therapist at Stepping Stone Family Services, a small private practice where she supported individuals and families navigating behavioral health challenges. Between 2013 and 2016, she was employed as a therapist at the Child Guidance Center in Des Moines. During this time, she provided outpatient therapy services to children and families while also working part-time from 2012 to 2015 as a milieu treatment counselor at Orchard Place Campus on the psychiatric medical institute for children unit.

Ms. Valadez's professional journey began after earning a bachelor's degree in 2001. She initially worked for various community agencies in direct care roles supporting families whose children had been removed from their homes or were involved with the U.S. Department of Human Services. She facilitated visitation and taught parenting skills aimed at improving family safety and relationships. Additionally, she provided in-home behavioral health intervention services for children under age eighteen.

From 2004 to 2012, Ms. Valadez served as a Latino community liaison for Des Moines Public Schools — one of only two individuals in this role districtwide. Her responsibilities included interpretation and translation services, connecting families with resources and assisting with intake and testing for students whose primary language was not English.

During this period, Ms. Valadez played an instrumental role in bringing the Latina al Éxito mentorship program to Des Moines middle schools at the request of local educators seeking to support Latina girls' academic success and personal development. The initiative expanded over time to include boys and became an independent nonprofit organization after Ms. Valadez's tenure.

Ms. Valadez's academic background includes a Master of Social Work in mental health counseling from the University of Iowa, completed in 2013. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Drake University, earned in 2001. Following the completion of her graduate studies, Ms. Valadez obtained licensure as a licensed independent social worker in 2015, granting her the ability to practice independently within Iowa.

Throughout her career, Ms. Valadez has demonstrated remarkable tenacity and resilience — qualities she attributes both to her upbringing as an only child observing those around her and to overcoming personal adversity during her early adulthood. Her commitment to lifelong learning is evident not only in her pursuit of advanced clinical training but also in her plans to continue college coursework toward earning a bachelor's degree in nursing so that she may become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Ms. Valadez's civic engagement includes being featured in JEFAS Magazine's "Therapy Unpacked: What a Latina Therapist Wants You To Know" in 2025. In this feature, she shared insights on mental health care from the perspective of a Latina therapist and was recognized among women making significant contributions within their communities.

Born in Des Moines, Ms. Valadez is the mother of three adult sons. She credits much of her ability to pursue higher education and career advancement to the support provided by her mother and grandmother during graduate school years. Outside of work, she enjoys ballroom dancing — particularly rumba, cha-cha and swing — having recently returned to the dance floor after many years away from performing traditional Mexican dances as a child and salsa dancing during adulthood.

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