Meet Lila Kimel | Clinical psychologist and Developmental Disabilities Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lila Kimel and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Lila, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I came up with the idea of starting Kimel Psychological Services when my daughter, Maya, was born, 9 years ago. At the time, I was working for the University of Colorado, School of Medicine at the JFK Partners clinic and simultaneously at Children’s Hospital in Aurora, and in a community clinic, primarily evaluating and providing treatment to individuals with developmental disabilities. I love the work that I do but could not manage a University job and have enough time to spend with my newborn daughter. Therefore, I decided to start my own business. At first, I ran it out of my home office, out of the side of my house, where I have an office with a waiting room. Then, I started subleasing space from a building nearby. It has been slow steps to get to where I am today, now leasing a 5 office suite, and expanding my practice to a group practice.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a first generation immigrant from Buenos Aires Argentina. I moved to the United States when I was four years old, due to an economic crisis in Argentina at the time, as my parents sought the American Dream. We left our family and friends behind in pursuit of more stability and safety. I got to where I am today because my parents always instilled strong educational values in me and my brothers. I have always liked helping people and knew that I wanted to go into a helping field. While attending UC Sand Diego, I became a student extern in a autism treatment lab, and fell in love with this population. It fascinated me how the human brain worked differently in folks with autism, in that they could be very bright but struggle so much socially. Through the years, I did a lot of research, and went straight to grad school at the University of Denver to get my Ph.D. I studied developmental cognitive neuropsychology and loved evaluating children and treating them.
Now in 2022, I run my own clinic at Kimel Psychological Services and love the work I do and the people I serve. I am one of the only Spanish speakers that can evaluate for autism and other developmental and learning disabilities in Denver. Unlike several practices in town, we take Medicaid. I happen to have a subspecialty in girls and women on the spectrum. In clinic we provide evaluations, psychotherapy, group therapy and expert witness consultation with lawyers.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend visited, I would take her to Breckenridge to see the mountains, to hike and to have some of the best meals ever. We would shop, go to lake Dillon and Stand up Paddle Board and just hang out around the lake. If it was winter, we would ski. I love mountain towns. We would also go to as many mountain festivals and music festivals as possible.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to recognize my parents, who are immigrants from Argentina and have always supported me and helped me seek higher education. I would also like to recognize my husband who has had to put up with late nights of me working hard to run my growing business.
Website: www.kimelpsych.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lila-kopelioff-kimel-1a160b5/