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Valeria Lindenfeld, MS, AMFT

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Miami, FL
Valeria Lindenfeld, MS, AMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. PsyD candidate Alliant International University.

09/17/2025

September is Su***de Prevention Month.
To embrace someone in their darkest moment is to remind them: you are not alone.

Su***de is not about selfishness, it is about unbearable weight, silence, and pain that words cannot hold. When we choose presence over judgment, listening over silencing, we create the possibility of life.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call 988 in the U.S. for the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline. Support is here.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theinfinitewhisper/p/su***de-and-the-human-condition-what?r=4dr2bn&utm_medium=ios
***dePrevention

07/15/2025

When Empathy Becomes a Brand: How Charity Sustains the Very Suffering It Claims to End… Read my latest. Link in bio.

04/03/2025

I’m honored to be included in Health Monitor Network’s upcoming guide on prostate cancer—especially in an article focused on how patients speak to the people they love about life-altering news.

This subject sits close to my heart. Not just as a therapist, but as a human being who believes that the way we talk about illness, vulnerability, and mortality shapes the way we live.

Thank you to the Health Monitor team for trusting me with this. It’s a privilege to contribute to work that meets people in such intimate and courageous moments.

02/14/2023

My turn is finally here!! Please, share and let me know if you know anybody who might be willing to participate. I am conducting a research to illuminate the experiences of nostalgia within the Hispanic community. Help me give a voice to NOSTALGIA! - https://alliant.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cNLznBhgf5k64gm

09/15/2021

September is su***de prevention month

Lets talk about some stats. Stats are important because it tells you how the rates are moving around us and to help bring awareness to yourself and to others about su***de.

As a clinician who (sadly) have been exposed a lot to clinical work with su***de, I have learned that it is fundamentally important to create a safe, compassionate space to discuss su***de and encourage those experiencing thoughts of su***de to seek help.
I had to do a lot of inward work to understand su***de through a systemic lens; do you conceptualize su***de as micro level? Meaning more about family, biology… or more about socio cultural?
I always encourage other clinicians and people in general to expand their analysis about this topic in order to add more layers of understanding. There are unique challenges to this population and we should approach with humility; BE HUMBLE, BE GENTLE, be mindful of the unbearable pain they are in and offer a safe space. Move away from judgement and do not jump into conclusions…

If you or someone you know is considering su***de, get help from a crisis or su***de prevention hotline. Try the National Su***de Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255

***depreventionmonth

07/19/2021

Grief is one of my personal interest that I like to explore in sessions; for those clients who are grieving we always talk about how we understand grief and how are we able to move through the process.

Grief is the response to loss and each individual has their own way of grieving. However, there are a few aspects that might be universal (type of emotions, thoughts, behaviors, physiological changes, social expectations…) and that share some commonalities and because of this, some people might state that a person “is not grieving the right way.” But, is there a right way to grieve?

Grief is so interesting that it changes over time yet it is permanent. The way human beings adapt to the loss is fascinating even though there is a disruption of physiological and psychological regulation. But grief is nothing more than the form love takes when someone we love dies; and this may look different across culture.

Some people have difficulties with restoring well-being after the loss; and this could have an impact in the restoration of the sense of purpose and meaning making. If this happens, sadly the individual is entering what it’s called “complicated grief.” The fail adaptation will contribute to an impairing endless loop and the individual will face with dysfunctional behaviors (i.e., substance abuse, not being able to provide self-care, severe social/environmental problems and inability to regulate emotions)

Finally, grief is different from trauma. Grief is different from depression. It is important to embrace grief and to listen to it; with time and the right help (if needed), people can still experience sadness but by accepting reality and finality of the loss, the experience becomes softer.

I would like to take a moment and express my sympathy to those who have been touched but the Surfside tragedy in South Florida. My heart is heavy and I can’t imagine the amount of grief and pain the families are experiencing. There are no words that would ease the pain; May the loving memories bring peace, comfort and strength to those affected.

06/05/2021

In order to gain a holistic view of the individual, it is important to move away from the prevailing norms and values of today’s society.
This is a community that has faced oppression for far too long and needs understanding and respect.

Cultural competence is being able to understand their needs, lifestyle and perspectives; this will help with have their problems ready to be identified and addressed in an effective, safe and timely manner.

Being an affirmative therapist I am able to advocate for them inside and outside the therapy room. I am constantly learning about their unique challenges in order to understand their narratives and the underlying messages to be able to provide effective interventions.

It is crucial to have cultural awareness and by doing this, we are setting the ground for improving the knowledge, practice and training of affirmative therapy for this community.

I am always ready to promote resilience, recovery and reintegration to this community. A community that needs to break those useless modern discourses about tradition gender roles.
Let’s reframe the narrative and have the societal shift... it starts with YOU!

“therapy

04/13/2021

Loving kindness means tender and benevolent affection.
Some people have difficulties being honest and real about problems, flaws and pains.
Replacing our real challenges and problems with fantasies, denial and distractions will only prevent us from really engaging with them; it won’t help with discomfort. This is not loving kindness, it is the most basic form of self-contempt.
Remember, underneath our ordinary lives there is a fundamental groundlessness and usually, we are frightened of what we might find when we allow ourselves to pay undistracted attention to ourselves. But this is important because judgement yields to awareness
Therefore, the question is, how do you respond to your own discomfort?

03/30/2021

It is very common that even though medication may help the individual function better, she/he may feel defeated, weak and worse of themselves. For example, an individual might function better, sleep better, and cry less on antidepressant, but at the same time view him/herself as broken, weak or defective because in order to function they need to be on medication.

There is a difference between psychological problems and biologically based psychiatric disorders; the second one is most likely to require medication treatment.

My point here is that stigma around psychiatric medication is very destructive. It prevents people seeking mental health help and it also stops individuals from talking about it with professionals.

Medication is extremely important for some people because it helps with the reduction of symptoms and prevention of relapse. The extra biological help can save lives and can support the therapeutic process; the same way you take medication for your cholesterol and high blood pressure, psychiatric medication is to help chemical imbalances in the brain.

If you take psychotropic medication: you’re not broken, you’re not weak, you’re not defective and most importantly, you are not taking the easy way out.

(Psychiatric medication is not a miracle cure. Consult with your doctor about your best options and never take medication without having the right doctor prescribing it and monitoring your progress and use - when not used correctly, psychiatric medication can cause more harm than help)

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