Meet Dr. Nicole Linardi, LMHC, NCC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Nicole Linardi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Linardi, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
One thing about my industry (Mental Health) that outsiders are probably unaware of is that the conversation surrounding mental health needs to be normalized and welcomed. Throughout the years that I have had the privilege to study and partake in higher learning academia and working in the field, I have witnessed the fear, lack of knowledge and lack of happiness in individual’s lives due to the simple fact that the simple act of talking about a past trauma, current trauma, and/or a mental health struggle isn’t talked about. It is my sincerest hope that mental illness is reframed and looked at as something to work hard towards attaining, mental wellness. I see this as the person who experiences a headache or any other ailment, pain, or discomfort and seeks support, help, and answers–they look for a doctor, a dentist or even go to the pharmacy. Now, if an individual struggles with mental health, they deserve to have the same perspective in their mental care, if not, more attention is warranted due to the sensitivity and the important role the brain holds for one’s life. Changing the way we see something can open up a whole new world of opportunities for one to heal in a world full of challenging events–and we can’t do this alone, we are not meant to. However, one person can make a difference in their own lives which then can trickle into a domino effect of change in another system (their family system), or work system, school system, and last but not least the social system. Additionally to the importance of mental health and advocating for normalizing, de-stereotyping and destigmatizing mental health services for those that are in need–it is even more important to advocate for those in need and aren’t able to afford these resources. I have been fortunate enough to work in a local non-profit with victims of crime– most survivors of sexual abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking and exploitation of some sort. Most of these individuals were immigrants from other countries, for some English was a second-language and coming to therapy was DCF or court-ordered. Most of these individuals may have not sought out therapy, due to culture, SES status, financial restraints and other familial responsibilities and priorities. It is important to see that services are also provided to those that may not go searching for therapeutic services and/or that may not fully afford a $120+/hr session. Mental health is and should be a service all have access to–and it is important for the public to know that many aren’t. All of us, in any position, profession, and/or career we’ve decided to pursue have the human responsibility to advocate and look out for ourselves and others and make sure that we assist those that are in need whenever we can– advocating, supporting and researching are important steps to assisting those that may not know about local mental health community centers, hospitals, agencies and clinics.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Currently, I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida. I also hold a Doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University. I graduated from NSU in July 2020, Go Sharks! My path has been a long and oftentimes challenging one–however, it has been fruitful to say the least. I was born and raised in New York by my single mother. My maternal grandfather stepped in early on in my life as a father figure and taught me many important life lessons along with the innumerable ones my mother was teaching me as well. The most important one I can remember til this day was that without an education, life would be very hard and that an education is the only thing nobody on this earth could ever take away from me. Since I can remember, my parents constantly instilled in me traditional Colombian familial values, morals and beliefs that were pertinent to our heritage and encouraged me to be the best version of myself. The most important lesson they taught me was the importance in getting a higher education and being someone with purpose, primarily without all the struggle, blood, sweat and tears they’ve had to endure. My educational path started out in Melbourne, Florida–where my mother decided to uproot herself and I, when I was 13 years old. I remember leaving all we knew in New York, our friends, family, our home, and everything that I knew and loved. We moved to Melbourne, Florida where I attended a public charter school called West Shore Jr/Sr High School. I remember having a challenging time adjusting to the different peers and academic requirements, but with studying and dedication I persevered. Moving forward, I had to make a choice as a senior regarding what school and major I wanted to dedicate my academic career to. I was clueless. How could I know at 18 years old what I wanted to study and be for the rest of my life? I remember applying to numerous schools and remaining undecided, I had heard that it was okay to not declare a major as this would not hinder my admission and later on I could decide–so I decided to go that route. I got admitted to multiple universities but was not ready to leave my mother, nor did I get admitted to the university of my choice. I opted to staying home, working full-time and attending a local community college. I believe this choice definitely set me up for an opportunity for gradual success–it wasn’t an extreme adjustment from West Shore as a 4-year college would’ve been. After attending community college for exactly 2 years, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA and was admitted to the University of Florida, Go GATORS! I remember my first day of school as if it were yesterday, I could not believe that I, Nicole Linardi was at the University of Florida–I felt like I was living a dream, and I was. It was an opportunity for me to find myself, to find my passions and interests and develop them. I took this opportunity and got involved in clubs (Children Beyond Our Borders–who worked with internally displaced people in Colombia), organizations, non-profits, volunteering and continued to work with those that were under-privileged and oftentimes found themselves voiceless in their angst. I found that this dually helped and hindered my academic career at UF as I was not able to fully focus on my classes and in turn my GPA suffered. Despite that, I managed to graduate from UF with my Bachelor’s in Communications Sciences and Disorder (Speech Language Pathology) and started working in a local charter school. There, I worked with children with numerous learning disabilities ranging from Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, and other speech and language deficits as the Integrated Speech Therapist in numerous classrooms. I also worked as a speech language therapist assistant in a clinic under the direct supervision of Amy Tomlinson, SLP. Amy provided me the trust and space in working in her clinic beside her–I learned many ins and outs in this field, and in doing so I also realized the dire need for services many families needed aside from speech and language therapy–I felt this was my calling. I continued to apply to the master’s in speech therapy program at UF and many other schools but due to my GPA I kept receiving multiple rejection letters. I felt rejected and oftentimes lost–I didn’t know which route to take. Oftentimes I contemplated going back to school and redoing my entire Bachelor’s degree. But faced the honest truth that that could be potentially a waste of time and money for me. I needed to figure out what route to take, to continue to further my career and help myself and my family. I didn’t quit, I sought mentorship and advise from role models around me and I documented their different perspectives to help me narrow down a plan of action. After 2-3 years of applying to the same program and trying to prove myself, I ended up finding my true calling–counseling. I knew the families I had been working with oftentimes sought additional space to connect and found that this could help me support their needs. In doing so, I immediately applied for the Master’s program in Mental Health Counseling at Nova Southeastern University and was accepted. After graduating with my master’s degree in MHC I realized that I wanted to continue my academic career and also learn more about myself and family while doing so–and applied and was accepted into the Doctoral Marriage and Family Therapy Program at NSU. My academic career has been full of ups and downs. I remember my first day in the doctoral program I was so nervous, but I made my first friend, she was transparent, genuine and vulnerable with me and I remembered thinking “how am I deserving of this?” And realized, I am– because she would not have approached me or opened up to me the way she did, had I not offered my true self as well. With this in mind, I often sold myself short and thought to myself that I wasn’t smart enough or capable enough to get through this program. But this wasn’t true. I pushed forward through the discomfort and anxiety– I studied, sought supervision from professors and mentors, peers and colleagues, I read, I reviewed and even sought therapy myself when needed and truly discovered a lot of my hidden potential when things were the toughest. I would like the world to know that I work from a Bowen Family Systems lens, where I look at not only the individual, but the entire family emotional system as well. Through this lens, my hope is to assist individuals in increasing their understanding and thoughtfulness surrounding their reason for attending therapy. My goal as a therapist is to help others discover and understand themselves and their family systems– those who may be struggling to connect with others or even themselves, or who have lost their way, those who may have a hard time seeing their potential and managing to stick to their goals and dreams. My priority is to help support individuals in discovering their true essence in life, their purpose and help support them through their healing journey. I have managed to learn many lessons, primarily to stop doubting myself–that fear is false evidence appearing real, indeed. Those times I doubted my ability to provide family therapy while being supervised by my professor and entire class on the other side of the mirror–I did it, the doubt I had when I had to give a presentation–I did it and passed. Or times I applied and completed a project and didn’t pass but took additional courses, sought additional supervision and studied–and then passed. These are all attestations to my testimony that doubt can be blinding, and if we truly believe in ourselves and spoke to ourselves with love and kindness–then we’d actually be much further in our success stories. I don’t regret any choice I’ve made thus far in my life and/or my career, all of these choices have lead me to be where I am at now and its lead me to be the woman that I am meant to be. So if there is one thing you could ever part with after seeing me is that you are worthy of your hardwork, efforts and dedication–just do it, reach for those stars and beyond because they are yours for the taking.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this idea, I am a big planner and love to organize a good time out with people that I love and care for. I love making loved ones feel special. With that being said, if my best friend came to town and I wanted to show them the best time ever– I would love to share with them all my local favorite places. I love to connect with people, nature and various cultures so you’ll see outdoors activities and plenty of eating! Let’s get started… Sunday- would be a day dedicated to some rest–since traveling can be tiring, we could hit up the resort style pool in my community and grill out while listening to our favorite music and sharing stories of our recent endeavors. Later on for dinner I would take her to my favorite place for local drinks and beats called Mojitobar in Sawgrass. Monday- wake up nice and early and head to Miami. One of the first places I would take my friend to would be Lincoln Rd and Espanola Way and walk around the brick-paved roads to discover diverse cuisines and shops for lunch and then head over to the beach and later get a drink at a cool Mexican place I love called Oh! Mexico. Tuesday- head over to the Naples/Fort Myers area and discover the Sanibel beach area, bike ride and walk around the local community. Head over to another nearby restaurant called Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grill for dinner (lunch/dinner). Wednesday- Wake up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (where I live) and hang out in the local downtown- head over to Las Olas and bike ride and rollerblade overlooking the million dollar homes, local shops and later stop by my favorite restaurant called Louie Bossie for a delicious Italian meal. Thursday- We would head over to Brickell City Centre where we could walk, shop and discover and enjoy local cuisines and people. Later on walk and drive through the local Brickell area to enjoy the views of the city skyline. Friday- Head down to Miami and go to the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens to learn about the history and take on additional views of the city and grounds. For brunch we’d head over to my favorite restaurant in the area called The Rusty Pelican- and continue to enjoy the city views. Saturday- would end the week with a day trip to the keys, go to the southern most point in the U.S. and end up in a local state park to kayak, grill and tan. I find that I enjoy interacting with individuals of different cultures, and experiencing different cuisines, views of the city, nature and architecture–I love enjoying and sharing my deep love and passions with those that I love and care for–as I believe the best experiences are shared experiences. With that said, the local discoveries I’ve made are meant to be shared and experienced with others–sharing is caring! Checking out diverse cultures such as visiting local mom and pop restaurants, local shops and stores–we are also able to give back to these local small businesses and support their creations. I enjoy doing this as I know my ancestors managed to be self-sufficient and create a way for those of us who are alive today to have a livelihood and future.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My success thus far cannot credited to myself alone–I would being doing myself a disservice to not honor those that had helped pave the way for me. I would not be where I am today, if it were not for those individuals that God has strategically placed in my life. There have been numerous individuals, opportunities, and literature that has molded my beliefs and have also provided a more refined pathway for me that have lead me to where I am today in my journey. In an effort to remain transparent to my passion for advocacy and genuine love for this field, I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my clients- past, current and future, as well as my research participants that have voluntarily participated in my recent research. My clients are courageous, brave, hardworking, and full of perseverance– they have continuously given me more than I can ever given them in the years I have provided therapy. I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to them for allowing me into their lives, for trusting me with their safety, their secrets, stories, their fears, passions and goals. Along with extending my deepest gratitude to my clients, I would not be where I am in my career if it were not for my parents–my mother, Marina Linardi and my maternal grandfather, Gildardo Castrillon. My parents immigrated from Colombia in search of a better opportunity like many others, their lives were not easy, but their hardwork, dedication and goals extended into my generation–leading me to work hard and be the first in my family to attend a 4-year University and ultimately obtain my Doctoral degree. While my success thus far has been in great part to my work with my clients and what I have learned about them and myself during this process, and the support and encouragement of my parents–I would not be where I am academically and professionally had it not been for my mentor Dr. Tommie Boyd. She has taken on a role in my life that is irreplaceable, she has been able to wear many hats in my life, which ultimately has served its much needed purpose in my growth. Dr. Boyd has been a mentor for me, where had it not been for her–I would’ve been lost, given up and/or not seen my full potential. I owe Dr. Boyd more than a shoutout and my gratitude, she has put more than a simple effort to see that I understand a topic, that I was safe, and ultimately that I was functioning well during my academic career–which is beyond her scope as a mentor. Her role in my life has set the bar so high for me, I will constantly strive to be at least a percentage of how dedicated, hardworking and genuine she has been with me and all of her students and colleagues. Thank you again Dr. Boyd, for everything. And lastly, my knight and shining armor… my fiancé! I wouldn’t be where I am at in my life and career without his unconditional love and support. These last 12 years, 4-5 being long distance have truly tested us and you’ve been by my side supporting me at my lowest and highest, you’ve seen my true potential and acknowledged my growth when I was oblivious to it–truly a God sent partner. Thank you for all that you do for me, for yourself, and for our family.

Website: bekindtothemind.net/nicolelinardi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bewholewithnicole/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-linardi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bewholewithnicole/
Other: Psychology today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/nicole-linardi-davie-fl/755509
Approved Clinical Supervisor at Motivo: https://app.wearemotivo.com/supervisor/nicole-linardi

Image Credits
Photographer: Grace Elliot with Say it Gracefully LLC.