Innerlight Transformative Team
Dr. Simone Blanchard
Dr. Simone Blanchard is and African-American female therapist, as well as the Executive Director and Lead Therapist of Inner Light Consulting and Therapeutic Services in the metro Washington DC area. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and holds her LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) in Maryland and Washington, DC. She is also a FemaleTrauma Specialist whose training includes working with children impacted by childhood sexual abuse.
Dr. Blanchard is a sought-after speaker by both lay and professional audiences. To the general community, she speaks about parenting skills, relationship healing and building, childhood development, and natural healing modalities. To professional audiences, her presentations include mental health diagnoses, interventions, treatment, and prognoses; relationship healing and building; suicide prevention; mind-body connection; and global trauma.
Dr. Blanchard earned her graduate degree with high honors in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University. She was inducted into the Psi Chi International Honors Society in Psychology and the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society. She is an International Psychologist with a special concentration in global trauma. She has studied with master practitioners in spirituality, human development, and restitution.
Vanessa Valdez, LCPC
Vanessa Valdez brings seasoned clinical leadership and grounded compassion to InnerLight’s transformative healing work. With extensive experience in psychiatric rehabilitation, quality improvement, and outpatient therapy, she blends clinical excellence with a deep commitment to human potential.
Rooted in the InnerLight philosophy, Vanessa believes healing is about expanding capacity — strengthening foundational skills, clarifying values and boundaries, and transforming attachment patterns that no longer serve growth. Her approach supports clients in moving beyond survival into empowered, sustainable change.
As a bilingual clinician fluent in Spanish, Vanessa creates culturally responsive and affirming spaces where individuals feel both understood and elevated. She guides clients through InnerLight’s Five-Stage Transformative Model, from Readiness to Change through Energy Psychology (Mind–Body Regulation & Healing), supporting the integration of mind, body, and spirit.
Vanessa’s presence is steady, thoughtful, and deeply aligned with InnerLight’s mission to awaken clarity, restore balance, and cultivate lasting transformation.