Meet Kevin M. Mendez

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Raised in a Peruvian immigrant household, I watched my parents pour everything they had into building a life for our family. They were strong, resilient, and deeply devoted, and like so many immigrant parents, they carried their own emotional weight quietly, prioritizing survival over their own mental health. There were no conversations about therapy, no language for what they may have been feeling. Just perseverance and survival. Watching them shaped me profoundly and planted a spark in me that has grown into my deepest purpose: to destigmatize mental health and make therapeutic support feel accessible, safe, and welcoming, especially for those who have never seen it modeled. 

I also witnessed firsthand how language barriers close doors for many families in underrepresented and inner-city communities. The absence of a therapist who speaks your language (literally and culturally) can be the very thing preventing families from seeking help. As a bilingual counselor, I see bridging that gap not just as a skill, but as a calling. My path into clinical mental health counseling was paved by nine years as a school counselor, where I sat with young people through some of their hardest moments. Over time, I began to see a pattern: many of the challenges showing up in schools were rooted in what was happening at home. I became passionate about prevention, about reaching people before the weight becomes too heavy to carry alone. That is what brought me here. 

My approach is rooted in solution-focused and mindfulness-based practices, always through a culturally responsive and affirming lens. I believe that healing happens when people feel truly seen — not just as a presenting concern, but as a whole person with a story, a culture, and a strength that deserves to be honored. My goal is simple: for every person who walks through my door to leave feeling heard, safe, and a little more hopeful than when they arrived. 

• Academic and Career Counseling 
• Adolescent Counseling 
• ADHD 
• Anxiety 
• Depression 
• Emotional Regulation 
• Immigrant and First-Generation Experiences 
• Learning Disabilities 
• LGBTQIA+ 
• Life Transitions 
• Parent and Family Engagement 
• Social and Emotional Learning 
• Stress Management

First-generation Counseling 

Motivational Interviewing 

Multicultural Counseling  

Mindfulness-Based Therapy 

Person-Centered Therapy 

Solution-Focused Therapy 

Undocumented-affirming Therapy 

John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (Sociology and Criminology Minors)

2014 

Hunter College 

Master of Science in Education in School Counseling

2017

New York University Silver School of Social Work 

Post-Master’s Certificate in Clinical Practice with Adolescents

2018 

Alfred University CITE 

Certificate of Advanced Study in Mental Health Counseling (In Progress) 

New York State School Counselor, Permanent License  

New York State Bilingual Education Assessment (BEA) -

        Spanish, Certification Exam (Test Code 169) 

English

Spanish