Executive Staff
Almaden Valley Counseling Service (AVCS) is a Santa Clara County nonprofit agency with an emphasis on serving youth and families in our school-based counseling services (Counselor on Campus Program – COC). Additionally, we offer a sliding fee scale where we see children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families with a broad range of presenting issues. We also provide a variety of classes. Our staff consists of our Executive Director, Clinical Director, 6 Part-Time Administrative Staff, 14 Licensed Clinical Supervisors, 60 Therapists (Trainees/ Associates), and a Board of Directors. We also have some generous volunteers.
Michelle Humke, LMFT
Executive Director
Michelle Humke has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 1991. She has practiced in San Diego, Los Angeles, Tucson, Arizona and Chile, South America. For over 15 years, she has served in administrative roles in the field of mental health. She comes to AVCS with a breadth of experience and knowledge of all the services offered by AVCS (school-based services, managing training programs, and serving a diverse population in the clinical counseling setting). She joined AVCS in August 2020 as Executive Director.
Janeen Velarde, LMFT
Clinical Director & Director of School Services
Janeen Velarde, LMFT, our clinical director and director of school services, has been a part of the AVCS family since 2010, starting as a practicum trainee. After receiving her master’s degree in Marital and Family Therapy from Western Seminary in 2011, she continued to see clients at AVCS in both the clinic and school settings, working with a variety of ages from elementary school to older adulthood. She has been a part of the admin team since 2014, serving in various capacities. She also has a private practice in Los Altos where she sees primarily teens and adults, using a strength-based approach to therapy. Her areas of clinical interest include anxiety and stress related to perfectionism and high-achievement, managing chronic health conditions, and working with victims of abuse.
Kathy Diangson, MA, LMFT, LPCC
Volunteer Consultant
Kathy Diangson, MA, LMFT, LPCC holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from John F Kennedy University. She has a private practice in San Jose, CA in the Almaden Valley. She was born and raised in San Jose and feels it is a privilege to serve the community in which she lives. In her private practice over the past 15 years, she has provided psychotherapy for Individuals, couples, and families using a flexible treatment approach grounded in humanistic and family systems. She specializes in working with adolescents and their families to guide them through this challenging stage in life. Over the years, Kathy has provided support as a Supervisor to associates in local school districts and community counseling centers serving both a diverse population and set of issues from elementary school to High School. She promotes growth through healing and change.
Almaden Valley Counseling Service Clinical Supervisors
Kate Bartenhagen, MA, LMFT
Kate has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (Sofia University). She is passionate about helping families heal and grow from difficult life issues – particularly substance abuse and has made it her life’s work to explore what causes suffering, how to minimize suffering, and how to help others lead a fulfilling life congruent with their true selves.
Kaye Bishop, MA, LMFT
Kaye has a private practice in Campbell, CA. She works with individuals, couples, and families from a systems perspective using the Satir Model. She specializes in long-term work with individuals who want a process of self-exploration.
Melissa Pirwani, MS, LCSW
Melissa Pirwani, LCSW works in private practice in San Jose, CA, helping people find stability, recovery and growth during life’s challenges. She delivers suicide intervention trainings across the Bay Area to better equip professionals and community members to compassionately and responsibly respond to people with suicidal thoughts. She has also worked in the Midwest and Canada, and in areas of child welfare, school social work, offender treatment, forensic social work, and mental health. She has a children’s ebook called “No Touching Secrets” to help adults talk to kids about child sexual abuse. She has been supervising therapists-in-training at AVCS since March 2019.
Lindsay Guichard, MA, LMFT
Lindsay specializes in helping those who struggle with social anxiety, anxiety, and depression. She also enjoys helping her clients embrace who they are and create life narratives that bring peace, healing, and connection to their lives.
Jill Lopez, MA, LMFT
Jill is in private practice in Morgan Hill, California and graduated from Santa Clara University in 2013 with a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She works primarily with adults and couples on the issues of anxiety, depression, life transitions, and grief and loss. She is currently studying Relational Life Therapy, which has a focus on healthy boundaries, self-esteem, and early trauma recovery work.
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Phone: (408) 997-0200
Fax: (408) 997-0711
Mailing Address
6529 Crown Blvd., Suite D
San Jose, CA 95120