Today we’d like to introduce you to Lina Acosta Sandaal.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1971 and raised in Miami from age seven. I was the baby of my family and was often labeled as the “emotional/independent” one. I was able to take the best aspects of being Colombian, growing up in a primarily Cuban environment and surrounded by the strength and the individuality that is the American experience. I like to say that I got to go to the buffet of Colombian, Cuban, and American values and pick those that best suited me. I struggled as an adolescent with what that meant in the face of familial and societal hardships, but those experiences shaped most of the decisions that I have made throughout my life.
It is imperative to me to always come from a place of authenticity. I believe that authenticity gives us the freedom to express who we are meant to be. When a family sits with me and we find who they wish to be authentically, then that is when they begin to flourish and thrive. My first experience of hearing the whisper of my authentic voice was as part of one of the founding classes of New World School of the Arts. At New World, I discovered that what I thought and loved was what drove me to work hard. It was at New World that I learned that without authenticity and passion, it is difficult to overcome an obstacle. I bring this to work with the families at my center every day.
I spent 16 years in Los Angeles. My time in Los Angeles brought the greatest changes in my adult life. I finally healed the hurts of my past by seeking help and discovering how those experiences shape me. I married my best friend, who supports and helps me grow to this day. But in May of 2005, the final piece of who I am today came to fruition: my daughter was born. Her birth did for me what the birth of a child does for most parents if they are willing to take on the challenge. Could I change, could I learn, and would I be willing to allow this experience to shape me into a completely different woman?
In the pursuit of answering these questions, I earned my Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. I trained in infant mental health, child and adolescent development, inter-personal neuro-biology, and trauma-focused treatments. Finally, in 2012, I decided to come home. I did this primarily to provide the rich cultural experience of Miami to my children, but also to bring what I learned in Los Angeles about families, children and mental health/development to the community that shaped me.
I opened Stop Parenting Alone with the certainty that when you give parents the right information parents always make the best choices for their children. Parents can make a difference in how the world is formed and changed. I fill the information void parents encounter when having their children. Parents tend to believe that they have to go at it alone and believe that asking for help is weakness or failure. My work through Stop Parenting Alone and with all the organizations who rely on my expertise and consultation on development and parenting issues is about being the person who brings knowledge and understanding of how parenting is a daily opportunity to raise a citizen of the world.
I made a commitment to assist and support other parents in using all of their experiences in seeing how their children challenge them to be the best person they can be. This daily commitment has now given me the opportunity to work with families at my center Stop Parenting Alone. I am also the parenting expert on Telemundo’s national morning show Un Nuevo Dia, a co-chair for the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative and a consultant for MomsRising, a national organization advocating for children and family rights in Washington DC.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
An incredibly difficult obstacle is the stigma of mental health and of parents being willing to ask for assistance. Our community tends to have very negative attitudes and judgments about mental health. So often, it is seen as a weakness if someone is not feeling well or if a parent feels like they do not know how to manage their child.
Also, when it comes to our emotional world, most of us have created defenses throughout the years, limiting the possibility of being vulnerable in a relationship. But parenting is a relationship between parent and child; if that is not functioning at its best then help is necessary. The defensive strategies create the greatest resistance to seeking the help that a parent needs to guarantee a healthy, vulnerable relationship with their child. It is a massive loop.
Those two obstacles are a daily challenge to our business. We have had to spend a lot of time at Stop Parenting Alone educating parents, schools, and families around the importance of preventing a serious mental health issue by learning and understanding social-emotional development and the importance of the healthy relationship to the development of their children.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Stop Parenting Alone story. Tell us more about the business.
Stop Parenting Alone ™ is a Miami-based parenting & therapy center. We apply information and research in attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, child-parent psychotherapy and real-life parenting experiences towards the goal that each family find their authenticity and become their truest selves. Our mission is to change the world one family at a time.
Our services include parenting classes for the most salient parenting questions and one on one parenting consults where parents can get personalized information on social-emotional development and parenting tips to best help their children thrive. We offer family, couples, play and dyadic psychotherapy for age groups 0-24 years old and their families. Finally, we have an online parenting support subscription where parents can have their questions answered in a private group and live every Tuesday at 1 pm EST by me, a child development expert and mom. It is my response to what parents need most: respect for their time, information and quick effective answers to day-to-day stressors
There are five psychotherapists on our team including me. I am proud of the work that we do and how we manage it. We work as a team. We each have our clients and families that we work with, but we meet often and speak about our cases. When working in the realm of emotions and psychology, it is easy to be persuaded by your own framework and perspective. This is why it is so important for our team to meet and make our blind spots conscious. In this matter, we can be mindful of truly helping the family and/or client in front of us rather than an idea of who they are. Also, we communicate and learn from one another. I believe in continuous professional development and reflection. This is particularly important in our field where so much of the neurological studies are changing the way we see how a person develops and grows psychologically especially children.
What set us apart is our commitment to work with the entire family and all the environments that affect and influence the family. Our focus is relational. We work with the family and all of their stressors rather than focusing on one individual as the problem. The human brain and social-emotional development build shifts and changes in a relationship. We hold that truth in mind for all of the families that give us the honor of working with them.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
One role bad luck played for the success of my business: I didn’t get a big part in a sitcom in Los Angeles. I use to be an actor in my twenties. I had small success while I acted. I did commercials and was the female lead for a very popular play called Latinologues. The most well known acting job I had was playing Norma in the movie Real Women Have Curves with America Ferrera. But the cards did not align for me to achieve success in that field, and now I am here in Miami attempting to help as many families as possible one day at a time. I like telling this story because it’s a perfect example that sometimes not getting what we want is exactly what we need.
Pricing:
- Online Parenting Support Subscription – $39.95
- Parenting Classes – $40 for two caregivers (mom, dad, grandma, auntie, nanny, etc.)
- One on One Parenting Consults – $150-$300
- Psychotherapy sessions – $150-$300
Contact Info:
- Address: 1221 SW 27 Avenue
Third Floor
Miami, FL 33135 - Website: www.stopparentingalone.com
- Phone: 305-392-0788
- Email: info@stopparentingalone.com
- Instagram: @parentingexpert
- Facebook: @stopparentingalone
- Twitter: @parentingrelief
Image Credit:
Chocolate Milk Photography, Jacqueline Bermudez Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
