Influential Woman · Mental Health
Daphne St.Valliere, LCSW
Psychotherapist, Balanced Mind, Balanced Life LLC
New York, NY 10031
Her Story
About Daphne
Daphne St. Valliere, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and families achieve emotional wellness and personal growth. As the founder of Balanced Mind, Balanced Life, a mental health and wellness practice serving clients throughout the New York City metropolitan area, she provides psychotherapy, clinical assessments, couples counseling, and supportive wellness services. Her work is grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered approaches that empower clients to build resilience, deepen self-awareness, and navigate life's challenges with confidence.
Daphne's passion for advocacy and mental health began in childhood after witnessing a loved one receive inadequate medical care, an experience that inspired her commitment to helping others. Originally pursuing a pre-law path at John Jay College, she discovered a profound interest in psychology and shifted her focus toward social work and mental health. She earned her Master of Social Work from Fordham University, where she excelled academically despite balancing family responsibilities, the loss of her father, and a demanding career with New York City's Administration for Children's Services. Her perseverance and leadership were recognized when she was selected as the 2017 graduation speaker for her class.
With more than 15 years of experience in human services and child welfare and several years in clinical practice, Daphne brings a wealth of expertise to her therapeutic work. Prior to establishing her private practice, she served in a variety of roles with the New York City Administration for Children's Services, including Child Protective Specialist and Child Welfare Specialist Supervisor. Today, she combines evidence-based therapeutic modalities, ongoing clinical research, mindfulness practices, and a strong belief in the importance of family and spiritual support to help clients create balanced, meaningful, and fulfilling lives.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Daphne
01What do you attribute your success to?
The spiritual support and family - those are the two spaces that have sustained me and kept me going. When I think about the year that I started at Fordham University initially, I had been out of school for a while. Fordham University is a competitive school, and I initially applied and I was rejected, but one thing I've always counted on is myself. So I took some non-matriculated classes, aced those classes, and reapplied, and that was how I was able to get in. The year I started my first semester, I had a toddler, I was pregnant with my second, my dad passed away, and I was working 50 hours. At the end of that entire experience, to be selected as graduation speaker, you know, as a mom who kind of carried so much, it took blood, sweat, and tears. There's just a lot to gather, and I can really sit in that experience and allow that to define me. The support of my friends and family is critical to my success, without them, my success would have been much more challenging!
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
This is advice that I've given myself: Do it, and do it scared. I feel like it's as simple and as complicated as that. Do it, and do it scared.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Bet on yourself. Bet on yourself and prioritize yourself, and wherever you are in your life and your career, prioritize you. You're allowed to be selfish. I know that even as women, we can prioritize family, we can prioritize influence, societal influences. But take some time to be mindful and bet on you, prioritize you. It'll always be worth it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The versatility - there's a really great space to finding your niche. Through networking, I feel like there's such a wide door. Whether you choose to work in geriatric care, I think there's a really great need there. Working specifically with children, or being a therapist who works solely with children, there's a really great opportunity there. It's just wild that children are really the foundation of our society, but there's not enough mental health care for them. It's just so wide open - you can always find a space for yourself in mental health.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Spiritual support and family - those are the two spaces that have sustained me and kept me going. As a mother who carried so much through my journey at Fordham, working 50 hours a week while parenting young children, dealing with my father's passing, and being pregnant, I learned that you have to bet on yourself. One thing I've always counted on is myself and my support team. When Fordham rejected me initially, I took non-matriculated classes, aced them, and reapplied - that's how I got in. Now I have the freedom to spend time with my kids without the overwhelming weight of working those laboring hours. I can be mindful in the space that I'm at now, whether traveling alone or being out with my kids with no time restraint. All of the weight of this journey was worth it, just to end up here.
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