Meet Katherine Wald | Psychotherapist

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

Hi Katherine, what is the most important factor behind your success?

The ability to create an environment of safety and trust for my clients is the driving factor behind my success. People know when someone is being authentic. I believe that my clients can sense my genuine, empathetic, sensitive and non-judgmental nature and it allows them to let their guard down. Creating a sacred space of safety where clients can be vulnerable, establishes the grounds for trust in our therapeutic relationship and provides a pathway for real healing to occur.

Through establishing a strong therapeutic alliance and my extensive training in a multitude of modalities, I am able to capture all the nuances of what might be contributing to underlying issues and equip my clients with the tools necessary to cope, self-soothe, and break free from unhealthy thought processes and actions. My goal as a therapist is to have my clients reach a place where they no longer need my help to navigate life’s journey. Fulfilling that goal for each of my clients is my most gratifying accomplishment

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I am a licensed psychotherapist, certified EMDR therapist, and a certified clinical supervisor in private practice in Miami. Although I work with many different types of clients, I specialize in the areas of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), family and relationship problems, Depression and Anxiety Disorders, Dissociative Disorders and chronic illnesses. I am also one of the few practitioners in Miami who is certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). In addition, I offer ADHD coaching, which helps those with attention and executive functioning deficits to compensate in the areas where there might be challenges, such as learning how to manage time, organize, prioritize, regulate emotions, tolerate frustration, sustaining attention, and study and work effectively. When coaching, I also work on anger management, impulse control, self-esteem, social skill building and other areas where people with attention deficits tend to struggle.

My road to success has been long and difficult and I believe that my own struggles have made it easier to connect with the struggles of my clients. From personal experience I know what it is like to fail often and to keep trying until finally achieving success. When I was 7 years old, I was diagnosed with severe combined type ADHD and multiple learning differences. As a result of these deficits, I struggled a lot growing up. Fortunately, I worked with a learning specialist who helped me to learn how to compensate for my areas of difficulty and improve my self-esteem. Equipped with my own unique way of learning, I was able to graduate magna cum laude from Georgetown University for my undergraduate degree and with honors from the University of Pennsylvania for graduate school.

I decided to become a therapist in order to help others the way that I was helped. My struggles with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning difficulties have made me both resilient and more empathetic to others who also struggle with life’s challenges. For several years I have also faced some additional health issues which have enabled me to connect in a unique way with clients who suffer from chronic health conditions.

By sharing my story with you, I would like the world to know that no matter what challenges or obstacles life presents, how you look at the situation controls how you feel about it. Don’t give up. You are stronger than you think.

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.
My friends and I aren’t really “going out to the club” types. We enjoy more of a laid-back atmosphere and doing outdoor activities. So if my best friend was visiting, I would probably take him/her to:

Day 1: The Standard Spa for a day and go to the hammam, go paddle boarding, take a yoga class then eat by the water at The Lido Bayside Grill.

Day 2: Zak the Baker for lunch, Wynwood Walls for some street art, Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop for dessert, Rubell Museum and the Marguiles Collection for more art, then KYU for dinner.

Day 3: Oleta River State Park to go kayaking, Joe’s Stone Crab for a Miami “must have” meal (complete with key lime pie for dessert) then Smith and Wollensky for cocktails and to watch the sunset.

Day 4: Versailles for lunch and a cafecito, then Domino Park to be touristy, followed by Lagniappe for live music, great wine and cheese.

Day 5: Shark Valley bike riding and gator watching, 1800 Lucky for lunch, the Salty Donut for dessert then
New World Symphony concert and picnic in Soundscape Scape Park.

Day 6: Greenstreet Cafe for brunch, check out the Saturday Grove Farmers Market, then Bombay Dunbar for dinner.

Day 7: Blue Collar for Sunday brunch, The Frost Museum for their aquarium and planetarium, then Mandolin Aegean Bistro for dinner.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a Shoutout to my partner, Daniel, for his unconditional love and support, and to my family for helping me to become the person I am today.

Website: www.katherinewald.com

Other: inspire-transformation.org (my non-profit)