Meet Victoria Valdez | Founder, Owner and Clinical Operational Director of TSC & Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Victoria Valdez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

About six months before I graduated from my counseling master’s program, my husband gave me the idea to start my own business. He started his own home remodeling business, and after observing him, I was inspired to start mine. If I went back in time and asked my 21-year-old self if she thought she ever owned her own business, she would have said, “Me a business owner? I’d never be able to do that”. Yet here I am.

I also have other influences that guided my choice to start my own business. My children, my family, and my well-being were huge factors. I wanted my family and me to be well taken care of. I was determined to be a wealth builder and breaker of the generational chains of poverty. While working on my Master’s degree, I spent time as a master-level counseling intern learning how to provide mental health services to the community. I hated seeing 30 clients a week, not including the hours of paperwork and case management time. I never felt I was truly serving my clients well because I was expected to see many clients, needed more time to prepare for sessions (the time I didn’t have), and had less time to train and provide more specific therapy. I felt mentally and physically exhausted and burnt out. When my internship ended and I graduated with my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy, I was offered $15 an hour as a bilingual therapist. How was I supposed to pay for my student loans and provide for my family of four at that time on 15 dollars an hour? It just was not possible. I wanted to be able to live well and serve my clients well. I wanted to have the financial resources to grow as a therapist by being able to afford training that would produce results for my clients. I wanted to be free to design my treatment style and programs for my clients how I wanted. So, I jumped into private practice, which was the best decision; I am very happy as a business owner.

What should our readers know about your business?

I am the owner, founder, and clinical director of Tri-Synergy Counseling (T.S.C.). T.S.C. is a group mental health counseling practice that services those who reside in the state of T.N. Directly from our mission statement: “Tri-Synergy Counseling (T.S.C.) is committed to delivering life-changing, generational transforming, culturally sensitive, quality, evidence-based mental health services to children, teens, families & adults residing in Tennessee. It is where the mind, body, and soul meet for healing.”

We stand out because we provide services that other counseling groups may not. For example, T.S.C. provides L.E.N.S. Neurofeedback treatments, parenting services, wellness offerings, and immigration evaluations, in addition to mental health services.

We stand out as a counseling group because of our model of therapy. We provide in-depth counseling services. We take our time to really get a deep understanding of a client’s struggles. The way we do a deep dive to understand a client’s struggle is by doing an in-depth clinical interview intake that includes trauma, anxiety, and depression assessments. When working with children and teens, we complete a parent’s in-depth clinical interview that provides for trauma, anxiety, depression, and child behavior assessments for the child. Child services also include monthly parent sessions to support parents (guardians). After the parent clinical intake, we meet with the child or teen for about four sessions to get a deep understanding of the struggles the child or teen is having. Then, we provide a clear road map to help them feel better, mind, body, and soul.

We also provide services that accelerate the healing of mind, body, and soul—accelerating mental health and wellness services such as counseling intensive for teens, adults, and families. A counseling intensive is a series of half days or full days of counseling that can equate to the progress of 6 months to 12 months of therapy in a 2- 5 day period. Rather than meeting weekly for 45 minutes for 6 to 12 months to get relief from anxiety, trauma, and depression, a client can book 1 to 5 days and gain back all that time and money spent and feel better faster. Our services are also unique because we pair Neurofeedback with our therapy services, allowing for a more profound and faster way to reach wellness goals. I tell clients it’s not a race to feel better, but who doesn’t want to feel better faster?

T.S.C. is a woman-owned, Latina-owned, neurodivergent-owned organization. Three of us speak Spanish, so we are equipped to serve the Spanish-speaking community.

You asked whether I faced challenges. My response is too many to count, but I grew resilient through obstacles and failures. Growing from private practice to group practice had its challenges. Still, I could move past those challenges by viewing them as puzzles to solve, educating myself on the parts of the business I needed help understanding, leaning on mentors, and outsourcing the needs of my business that I needed to grasp better. My values and spiritual beliefs keep me going. My mother and father taught me to live by these values: 1. “No te Dejes Mija, 2. No me digas que no, 3. God will see me through 4. A Valdez never gives up.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love this question so much! It depends on which one of my best friends is visiting. This is also tricky because there are many great things to do. I’d tell my friend to come during the summer or spring. I’d take them to Nashville’s Market Place, Opry Mills Hotel, The Nashville Studio Experience, Opry Mills Mall, and National Museum of African American Music, and, of course, we hit up Broadway and go Latin dance at Plaza Mariachi. We would take a food tour and visit Burgess Falls State Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Many people deserve a massive shout-out for my success. Still, the top individuals would be God, my husband, mother, mother-in-law, brother, good friends, great business coaching, and clients who trusted me enough to allow me the privilege to support and guide them through their healing journeys. I also have to give credit to my late father, who raised me as a single parent from when I was ten till I was 21. He would have been another rock for me, but he passed away when I was 21—my spiritual connection with God as my number one strength guides me through the ups and downs. My family helped me by taking care of my kids during my late-night classes, celebrating my wins and successes, and encouraging me when I felt like giving up.

Then, I received business coaching through a program designed for mental health therapists. The program helped me dive into my money mindset, challenged my money narratives, and facilitated connection and friendship with other like-minded therapists who are some of my dearest friends! We are from all over the country but talk nearly weekly and continue to support each other. The program’s name is LIMB. Lean In (and) Make Bank. I am deeply grateful to Tiffany Mclain, the owner and creator of LIMB.

Website: www.tri-synerygcounselingtn.com

Instagram: tri_synergy_counseling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TriSynergyCounseling

Youtube: @TSCTNVVALDEZ

Image Credits
Destiny from https://www.topazandpinephoto.com/