Meet Dr. Luisa Sanz

The Journey

Dr. Sanz grew up in Madrid, Spain, and even as a very young person, she always had a strong sense of injustice. She wanted to grow up to be a teacher, like her mother, as she was an inquisitive person who loved learning and sharing information; and even though she never became a teacher as such, she has frequently been invited as a guest speaker in talks, conferences and forums which she loved participating in, and did as much as her clinical job allowed her to.

As the 6th sibling of 8, her family was very underprivileged and with constantly busy parents, Luisa felt invisible. “I was one of many and so never had a sense of individuality or even felt valued” she said.

When Luisa was 7, her eldest brother became ill with early symptoms of Schizophrenia being diagnosed 3 years later. “I watched him becoming ill, losing touch with reality, getting paranoid delusions and hallucinations. His illness really impacted on each one of us and all of us as a family. Violence became the norm; I lived in horrible fear until I left home and even thereafter for a long time.” Dr Sanz said.

When Luisa was 15, she went to the United States to learn English where she lived with her aunt and her husband, who was also Spanish. He was a successful psychiatrist who loved his job and Luisa looked up to him. But he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and he passed away just months after Luisa arrived. “I was with him when he passed and I felt disappointed that so much knowledge and experience would vanish with him so I closed my eyes and visualized it coming to me instead… all his knowledge of psychiatry and understanding of human behaviours, his fluency in the English language, his determination. dedication and success. To this day, I truly believe all that came to me since some months later I decided that I was going to go to medical school become a psychiatrist and move to an English speaking country; and so I did!” shared Luisa.

Soon after Luisa came back to Madrid from the US, her other brother started to show signs of schizophrenia also. “With him, it was much more insidious and slower the way the illness manifested. He was very, very guarded because he had the experience of our eldest brother. We absolutely struggled to get services to support us. It was awful; we all felt so hopeless and helpless. He was misdiagnosed several times being banned from the local psychiatric hospital,” said Dr. Sanz. 

“As a family, we really struggled with my brother being so ill but most importantly, not having any support whatsoever; on the contrary, we experienced rejection all around, from services, professionals and even neighbours. As expected, without treatment he continued to deteriorate becoming more psychotic as well as violent.” 

At that time, Dr. Sanz’s sense of injustice shifted from being self-centred to focusing on the horrific lack of understanding and support that existed for people like her brothers and their families. “I felt immense compassion for all the people with mental health problems who were subject not only to their own struggles but also to the judging attitude from most around them and the rejection from those same professionals, who were meant to help, support and provide them with treatment.”

“It was like a revelation then and I knew I had to do something. Firstly, I had a need to understand my brothers’ illness and overall presentations so I’d become a psychiatrist; and secondly, I had to change the system from being so unhelpful and cruel, to a much more understanding, accepting and supportive so I’d become a great psychiatrist!”

The Present

Dr. Luisa Sanz is a psychiatrist with over 25 years of experience working mainly with young people. She is immensely passionate about her work, and at the root of all she does, is the drive to help others through compassion, understanding, acceptance, respect and love. 

Both of her brothers are now well looked after by professional staff in mental health residencies. “I continue to love them and care for them and am in contact with their psychiatrists to discuss their treatment and care. They’ve now got great professionals supporting them as well as managing and overseeing their treatment and care plans. Both my brothers have been and continue to be a fascinating influence in my life, “teachers” I learn from everyday,” she says. 

When Luisa first began her career as a psychiatrist in the British National Health Service (NHS) she saw an endless stream of parallels to what she and her family had experienced. When she spoke to families, all she heard was that they felt frustrated at the lacking services to support them and the absence of empathy and understanding about what they were going through. People with mental health conditions were feeling dismissed, neglected, and judged. 

In her job she always had the advantage of being able to relate and empathize with her patients and their families much better than most of her colleagues. She was determined to make them feel heard and supported (unlike her experience with her brothers) and excel in diagnosing and treatments and, as soon as she had the chance, improve the Care provision, which started happening when she became the Consultant Lead and had a bigger influence in service management and development by, for example, establishing a pathway for the assessment of Autistic Spectrum Conditions within the department or acquiring innovative diagnostic tools for ADHD such as the Qb test, or collaborating to eradicate waiting times for assessments and treatments… to mention a few. 

When she felt she had made a difference in that area she decided to take another job as the Clinical Director in CAMHS (Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services) for a much bigger region to make a much bigger difference then. It was at this point that she realized, the” system didn’t work” and they were just “putting plasters” in Mental Health; if you were lucky enough to have a “superficial cut”, you’d be fine but if your “injury” was deeper, then you were there for the long run as the plaster could not treat any “internal damage”, A much wider approach was needed, one that starts from an early age, one that involves everyone, one that is about attitude which comes from our perceptions, understanding, acceptance, compassion, one that would change the world of mental health. 

At this point, Dr. Sanz felt this was not something she could do from her NHS job so decided to take a career break so she could find perspective and a way forwards. A way that would eradicate stigma once and for all; at this stage in age, mental health stigma didn’t make any sense!

She felt the world was ready for a Transformation; people were feeling numb, empty, lost and searching for meaning and purpose. Happiness would not be found in the material world. It was time to open our hearts and feel, to open our eyes and see, to see with the heart. And it became crystal clear that both changes had to happen together, the change in the perception of mental health relies on the change in attitude which will lead to meaning, purpose and happiness. 

And everything came together, an alignment of the stars for a heart-felt purpose: the right time, the right place, the right people and after 25 years working in the British NHS and more than 10 providing consultations and clinics to Residential Educational placements for children and young people with intellectual disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders and mental health problems, Dr. Sanz was about to develop Mind Yr Life. 

And so it was, with infinite passion and firm determination for inspiring everyone to have better understanding of mental health and our inner essence which will lead us all to a more respectful, accepting and loving attitude and, in turn, also guide us to happier lives. 

Welcome to Mind Yr Life. This is the beginning of something beautiful, powerful, and so deeply special. Please join us in this fascinating journey.

The Vision

This is where you come in. Dr. Luisa Sanz invites you to join the conversation that is transforming our lives, join the movement that is leading towards healthier and happier lives by improving your wellbeing and the one of those around you. 

This is where we ALL come together, in the sharing of learning, experiences and kindness as well as in, firstly, admitting that we are all in the spectrum of mental health whether some acknowledge it or not, and so we need to become more accepting and loving of ourselves and others; and secondly, that we are also all in this world searching for the same… meaning, purpose, happiness which is much easier to find than most of us think, yet we won’t do if we don’t get the first bit right.

Mind Yr Life strives to inspire everyone into sharing the belief that it is indeed love and acceptance what will build the foundation for the most genuine, truthful and strongest support system ever known for those who are struggling, those who want to support and need guidance in doing so, or simply those who want to learn more about mental health, wellbeing and the pursue of happiness.

Mind Yr Life was created with You in Mind. This is your invitation to let go of any judgement you place upon yourself or others and simply accept without assuming but with an open, loving heart, to celebrate where you are today and where you want to go, and to step out of your own way onto the path journey to acceptance, purpose and happiness. 

Mind Yr Life is the beginning of an incredible World Transformation and we love that you’re part of it from the beginning… so glad you’re here with us now!