Today we’d like to introduce you to Lila Kimel.
Lila, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My path to founding Kimel Psychological Services really began long before I opened my private practice. As an undergraduate at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), I became fascinated by autism spectrum disorders and the ways it affects brain functioning across the spectrum. I was also impressed by the resilience of the families I worked with, while working for a graduate student who was doing her dissertation on improving language functioning in nonverbal young children with autism spectrum disorder. That interest led me into research and clinical work with individuals with developmental disabilities, where I quickly realized the profound impact that an accurate diagnosis and the right supports can have on a person’s life. From that point on, I knew I wanted to dedicate my career to serving neurodiverse individuals and their families.
After completing my doctoral training in clinical psychology, I joined JFK Partners at the University of Colorado, one of the nation’s leading interdisciplinary centers for developmental disabilities. Working alongside exceptional physicians, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists gave me invaluable experience evaluating children with complex developmental needs. It was an incredible place to learn, but it also exposed me to a significant problem: there simply were not enough specialists to meet the overwhelming demand. Families often waited months, or even longer, for evaluations, delaying access to therapies, school supports, and services during some of the most critical periods of development. This was particularly the case for a subset of families I worked with who spoke only Spanish, as I was one of the few Spanish speakers who could provide care in this organization.
In 2013, I founded Kimel Psychological Services with the hope of creating the kind of practice I wished more families could access, one that offered comprehensive, thoughtful evaluations and psychotherapy and genuinely collaborative care. What started as a solo private practice quickly grew because the community’s needs continued to outpace the available resources. Families were looking for clinicians with expertise in autism, ADHD, learning disorders, developmental disabilities, and complex mental health presentations, and there simply were not enough providers to meet that demand.
In 2015, my professional life and personal life began to intersect in unexpected ways. Becoming the mother of twins with developmental disabilities fundamentally changed my perspective as a psychologist. Suddenly, I wasn’t only the clinician helping families navigate complex systems; I was also the parent trying to advocate for my own children, coordinate care, work with schools, manage therapies, and balance all of it while maintaining a career. Experiencing both sides of the table gave me a much deeper understanding of the emotional, financial, and logistical challenges that families face every day.
Life brought additional challenges, including navigating divorce while raising children with special needs and growing a business. Those experiences reinforced my belief that families need providers who not only have clinical expertise but who also understand how overwhelming these journeys can be. They strengthened my commitment to building a practice that treats every family with empathy, respect, and the recognition that no two situations are alike.
Over time, I developed a passion for expert witness forensic work, where I am considered an expert in autism and develpmental disabilities for both criminal and civil cases. With the initial guidance of some former clinical supervisors, I developed a knack for going on the stand and helping to mitigate in cases where an individual with a developmental disability is being accused of a crime. I also learned to help in cases where an individual with a developmental disability is being discriminated against or where they are caught in the middle of a contentious divorce.
I have also really enjoyed running social skills groups for neurodiverse adolescents and developed a curriculum for a group for girls with autism spectrum disorder and related diagnoses.
The practice expanded not because growth was the original goal, but because it became a necessity. As referrals increased, I realized that one psychologist could only help so many families. I began recruiting talented clinicians who shared my philosophy of neurodiversity-affirming, evidence-based, compassionate care. Today, Kimel Psychological Services has grown into a group practice providing comprehensive psychological, developmental, neuropsychological, and forensic evaluations, psychotherapy, parent consultation, and group therapy. We also prioritize training the next generation of psychologists through supervision and externship opportunities, helping expand the workforce in a field where specialists remain in critically short supply.
Access to care has always been central to our mission. We are proud to accept Medicaid and Medicare, provide bilingual services, and continually look for ways to reach underserved communities that too often struggle to obtain high-quality psychological care. Every decision we make, from the clinicians we recruit to the services we develop, is guided by the question, “How can we better serve families who need us most?”
Looking back, I never set out simply to build a larger business. Kimel Psychological Services grew because I no longer had the capacity to serve families on my own and needed quality psychologists to help me better serve this community’s needs. Every stage of our evolution at KPS has been driven by the same mission that first inspired me when I entered the field: to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals and their families through compassionate, scientifically grounded care. My experiences as a clinician, clinical director, business owner, and mother have all shaped that mission, and they continue to inspire the work we do every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In many ways, Kimel Psychological Services grew out of necessity rather than a carefully planned business strategy. Early on, I was balancing building a practice while raising children, two of whom have developmental disabilities. A few years into developing the practice, my best friend was murdered, and then I got divorced. While going through these hard times, I sought out services for my own children. This led me to learn firsthand just how difficult it can be for families to access quality psychological care and supports. Those personal experiences have shaped nearly every decision I’ve made as a business owner.
As a woman, a Latina, and a Jewish business owner, I’ve also had to overcome challenges that aren’t always obvious. There have been times when I felt I had to work harder to establish credibility, be taken seriously, or earn a seat at the table. Building a business from the ground up without a large organization behind me meant learning to advocate for myself, negotiate with confidence, and trust my own judgment, even when others underestimated me. Rather than seeing those parts of my identity as barriers, I’ve come to see them as strengths. They have given me resilience, empathy, and a deep appreciation for the importance of representation and culturally responsive care.
Professionally, one of the biggest challenges has been building a sustainable practice in a field where reimbursement rates, particularly for Medicaid, often don’t reflect the time and expertise required to provide high-quality evaluations and treatment. We’ve had to continually adapt to changing insurance policies, administrative burdens, and workforce shortages while remaining committed to serving families who often have the greatest need.
Like many small business owners, I’ve also had to wear every hat imaginable: psychologist, supervisor, mentor, marketer, HR manager, accountant, and CEO. There have been countless late nights spent writing reports after my own children went to bed, solving operational problems, and figuring things out as I went. Growth has brought wonderful opportunities, but it has also meant learning how to build systems, hire the right people, and create a culture that supports both our staff and our patients.
At the same time, those challenges have made us stronger. They pushed us to become a training-focused practice, invest in innovative technology, expand services in multiple languages, and build a team that shares a passion for serving neurodiverse individuals and their families. Looking back, I wouldn’t say the road has been easy, but every obstacle has helped shape the practice into what it is today. The struggles have reinforced our mission and deepened my commitment to making high-quality, compassionate psychological care more accessible for the families who need it most. If anything, those experiences have made me a better psychologist, a stronger leader, and someone who truly understands the families we serve because I’ve walked many of those difficult paths myself.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Kimel Psychological Services is a woman-, Latina-, and Jewish-owned psychology practice founded in 2013 with a simple but deeply personal mission: to help individuals and their families understand and embrace their strengths and differences while providing the guidance, interventions, and support they need to thrive. That mission continues to guide every decision we make today.
What began as a solo private practice born out of necessity has grown into a powerful team of licensed clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, therapists, and doctoral trainees who provide comprehensive psychological services across the lifespan. We offer psychological, developmental, neuropsychological, and forensic evaluations, psychotherapy, social skills and DBT groups, trainings, and expert witness services, all under one roof. Families appreciate that we can often provide both assessment and ongoing therapy within the same practice, creating continuity of care that is difficult to find elsewhere.
We are especially known for our expertise in autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, developmental disabilities, learning disorders, giftedness, complex diagnostic presentations, and neuropsychological assessment. We also have specialized experience with individuals who have historically been underidentified or misunderstood, including girls and women with autism, twice-exceptional individuals, verbally fluent autistic individuals, culturally and linguistically diverse populations (especially Spanish-speaking individuals), rare genetic conditions, individuals with medical complexity, and individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system. Our clinicians provide services in both English and Spanish, making us one of the few practices in Colorado able to offer comprehensive bilingual evaluations by native Spanish-speaking psychologists.
One area that has become increasingly meaningful to me is our forensic work. We partner with attorneys, judges, schools, and government agencies to bring a deeper understanding of neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions into legal decision-making. In criminal matters, our evaluations often help the court understand how developmental disabilities, cognitive differences, trauma, or psychiatric conditions may have contributed to an individual’s behavior. While we never excuse criminal conduct, we believe that understanding the “why” behind a person’s actions allows the legal system to make more informed decisions about competency, culpability, sentencing, treatment, rehabilitation, and reducing the likelihood of future offenses.
Our civil forensic work is equally rewarding. We frequently evaluate individuals with developmental disabilities who are involved in divorce, custody, guardianship, educational, and disability-related cases. These evaluations help judges and attorneys better understand how autism, intellectual disability, ADHD, or other developmental conditions affect parenting capacity, decision-making, communication, adaptive functioning, and support needs. My goal is to provide objective, evidence-based information that helps the legal system make decisions that protect vulnerable individuals while preserving their dignity, autonomy, and quality of life.
What truly sets us apart is our philosophy. We don’t believe an evaluation should simply end with a diagnosis. Every assessment is thorough, holistic, and individualized, resulting in practical reports with targeted recommendations that families, schools, physicians, attorneys, and community providers can actually implement. We take a systems-based, collaborative approach, working closely with parents, educators, physicians, therapists, attorneys, and other professionals to ensure our recommendations lead to meaningful change, not just another report in a drawer.
Our practice is also deeply committed to neurodiversity-affirming care. We focus on understanding each person’s strengths, challenges, and unique way of experiencing the world rather than trying to “fix” who they are. Families often tell us that working with KPS is the first time they have felt truly heard, understood, and hopeful about the future.
Another aspect of our brand that I am especially proud of is our commitment to accessibility. We have intentionally built a practice that accepts Medicaid and serves families from a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, despite the financial challenges this creates for a small private practice. I firmly believe that high-quality psychological care should not be limited to those who can afford to pay privately.
We are also passionate about training the next generation of psychologists. As a teaching practice, we mentor doctoral students and early-career clinicians while emphasizing evidence-based practice, cultural humility, and compassionate care. Investing in future psychologists allows us to extend our impact far beyond our own clinic.
At the heart of Kimel Psychological Services is our belief that every individual deserves to be understood, not simply diagnosed. Whether we are helping a young child receive an autism diagnosis, guiding a family through the special education process or waiver programs, providing expert testimony in court, or helping an adult with developmental disabilities navigate a complex legal matter, our goal is always the same: to help people better understand themselves, access the supports they deserve, and create opportunities for healthier, more fulfilling lives. Our tagline captures that philosophy perfectly: “Understanding roots to grow healthy branches.”
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is helping people truly understand themselves and having others understand them, in order to ensure they have access to the supports they need to thrive. Whether I’m diagnosing an individual with autism spectrum disorder, helping a family navigate the educational system, providing therapy, or assisting judges and attorneys in understanding the impact of developmental disabilities in legal cases, my goal is always the same: to use psychology to improve lives.
I also care deeply about making high-quality psychological services accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or ability to pay. As someone who built this practice while navigating my own personal and professional challenges, I know how life-changing it can be when families finally receive answers, validation, and a clear path forward.
Ultimately, I want Kimel Psychological Services to be known for combining scientific excellence with compassionate neurodiverse-affirming and culturally competent care, and helping people understand their roots so they can grow healthy branches.
Pricing:
- Individual therapy: $200 per 50-minute session
- Family therapy: $200 per 50-minute session
- Non-forensic consultation: $200 per hour
- Comprehensive or targeted evaluation: $2,500–$6,000, depending on the type and extent of assessment
- Forensic Evaluations (private): $400/hour for evaluations and reports, $500/hour for depositions and hearings
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kimelpsych.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimel_psych_services/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KPSPractice/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/15481324/admin/page-posts/published/
