Dr. Giemaly Soto is a current postdoctoral resident at the Center for Integrated Behavioral Health under the supervision of Dr. Rizwan Ahmad. She is working towards licensure in the state of Pennsylvania. She earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from West Chester University of PA. Dr. Soto completed her predoctoral internship at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health in West Chester, PA. During her internship, Dr. Soto had the opportunity to provide individual, group, and family therapy services to adolescents within a psychiatric residential facility and focused her training in the evidence-based practice of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She conducted risk assessment evaluations in addition to psychodiagnostic and functional behavioral assessments to children and adolescents. Dr. Soto was also responsible for case management and facilitating interdisciplinary team meetings with funders and outside professionals to develop effective treatment plans.
Throughout her training, Dr. Soto has worked with clients in a variety of settings including community mental health, outpatient private practice, and schools. As a clinician at West Chester University’s Community Mental Health Clinic, she provided individual and family therapy to clients presenting with mood disorders, PTSD, IED, and ODD. Dr. Soto has also had multiple experiences co-leading group therapy. As a graduate assistant in the Resilient In spite of Stressful Events (RISE) lab, Dr. Soto co-led a cognitive-behavioral, school-based intervention group to prevent depression and aggression among students attending a credit recovery high school due to poverty-related stressors (e.g., homelessness). During her internship training at Devereux, she ran both Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH) psychoeducation group and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills group. At Dragonfly Psychological Associates, Dr. Soto engaged in teletherapy with youth primarily diagnosed with ADHD and was trained in providing executive functioning coaching. She regularly sought interdisciplinary consultation to deliver coordinated care and support their psychosocial development. During her placement at Westtown School, Dr. Soto gained significant assessment experience through classroom observations, psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic test administration, and integrative report writing. Additionally, she provided both short- and long-term psychotherapy to day and boarding students as they navigated social and academic-related stressors.
Dr. Soto is trained in utilizing trauma-informed care and empirically supported treatments such Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Parent Management Training, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy. Throughout her training, she has provided services to individuals, ranging from ages seven to twenty-one, and their families presenting with a wide variety of mental health diagnoses such as trauma-related disorders, anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior disorders, and personality disorders. She has frequently consulted with outside professionals such as teachers, parents, and other medical professionals to support her clients’ psychosocial development.
Dr. Soto strives to create a safe, supportive, and trusting environment in therapy and believes in the importance of developing a strong therapeutic relationship with her clients. Her non-judgmental and strengths-based approach balances meeting clients where they are at while encouraging them to reach their life goals.