Stella Vidal proved herself as a unique case of following her heart, and thankfully, it paid off for her. Growing up in Cali, Colombia, where drug wars and violence was rife in her days, was enough to dampen anybody’s ambitions. But thankfully, in 1986, when Stella was just 16, her parents took her and her siblings out early to a small town in New York City to start afresh.
It was a challenging period because they lived in a one-bedroom apartment with Stella’s aunt and her son for several months. Stella continued with her education, and after high school, she got a full Minority Honors scholarship to go to college, much to her father’s skepticism, as it wasn’t that common for Hispanic children to leave their homes to pursue higher education. However, Stella gave no room for fear or doubt, and off she went to college.
Stella Vidal took many part-time jobs and adopted a full-fledged American life. Stella completed her college degree in psychology and then obtained a master’s degree in mental health counseling in 1997. While in college and after graduation, Stella worked as a mental health therapist, case manager, wellness coach. As a true entrepreneur, she even laid her hands on the real estate business.
A few years down the line, Stella has fully evolved into her element, and she now runs her own mental health and wellness coaching practice, Stella Vidal LLC. Through her company, she partners with different mental health agencies to deliver mental health services to clients between 5 years and 98 years old dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and trauma recovery. Since the beginning of the pandemic, her business model has switched to telehealth, and she has continued to share messages of faith and self-love. She also runs her virtual real estate business that serves clients from different parts of the world, many of whom become her wellness patients.
Stella’s approach to running her business is unique, and in her words, “I approach mental health and wellness with creativity to engage my clients and have them look forward to our weekly coaching sessions. I believe that we all can find happiness and that this happiness may actually look weird to others, but if you get to the point where you don’t care, then we’ve made great progress!”
Business wasn’t always thriving though. During the 2008 recession, business slowed down significantly as many people didn’t have enough money to spend on either mental health or real estate.
One day, her nine-year-old son told her how beautiful she looked and suggested that she become a model. This signaled the beginning of her journey into modeling and acting. At the age of 37, she got on Latin and English television channels and made three appearances in the show Sabados Gigantes as a model and dancer. Stella also became a regular on Telemundo. She got published in different fitness magazines like MMA Sports, Batchelor Magazine, Fighters Only Magazine, etc.
After being exposed to television as a talent, Stella wrote her own television show titled Livin La Vida Miami. Her show allowed the viewers to experience the most exciting venues in Miami and South Florida while providing support to local businesses that were suffering. The show ran locally and across national TV networks in NY, LA, ATL for four years. Stella loved traveling and appreciated that excitement it brought. Eventually Stella went back to her passion: helping others become happier and healthier, one person at a time.
Now, as a 50-year-old Latina, a mental health therapist, and nationally certified wellness coach, many of her clients are often curious about how she overcomes so much adversity while always smiling and carrying on with a positive attitude. This attitude has helped her wellness practice grow exponentially because she lives a life that many people see as a destination. Stella authored the critically acclaimed book, 7 Intentions to a Happier You, written to help people to look within for the answers by practicing 7 intentions. The book is available on Amazon.
Learn more about Stella Vidal, LLC, on the official website.
