Why Your Therapist’s Lived Experience Can Be Invaluable to Your Healing

When you are carrying the weight of medical trauma, chronic illness, or a crisis of faith brought on by suffering, it can feel like you are speaking a language that so few truly understand. You deserve a therapist who does more than listen. You deserve someone who understands what it is like to fight for your well-being. Someone who knows the sting of being dismissed by a provider, the exhaustion of ongoing pain, the grief for the life you imagined, and the ache of wondering where God is in the midst of it all.

Not every therapist has walked a road like yours. Many haven’t. And that is okay — excellent therapy is built on strong clinical skills, training, and care. Yet when you do find a therapist who has lived through similar battles, it can create a rare and powerful connection.

Current research shows that while some mental health providers live with their own health or disability challenges, it is still uncommon to find a therapist with direct, personal experience in chronic illness, women’s health conditions, reproductive trauma, or a faith journey shaken by suffering. When your therapist understands not only from education but from lived reality, it can transform the healing process.

✨ You do not have to translate your pain to be believed.

✨ You are met with recognition instead of doubt.

✨ You feel less alone because someone else has wrestled too and continued forward.

✨ You do not have to have the words to feel seen and understood.

Lived experience does not replace professional expertise. It strengthens it. It weaves empathy into knowledge, creating a therapeutic relationship where you can finally exhale. You are not a puzzle to be pieced together. You are a whole person with a story that deserves to be honored.

Your healing journey is sacred. You deserve support that reflects your truth and your resilience. When a therapist has navigated the hidden battles of illness and heartache and still shows up with compassion and hope, that presence can help you believe that healing is possible for you too.

If you are longing for a space where your story is understood without explanation and where your experiences and struggles are held with care, I would be honored to walk with you. You can book a session to explore whether we are a good fit and begin your healing in a place where your lived reality matters.

Shakira O'Garro LMHC-D, LPC, LPCC, NCC

Cheerful Heart Mental Health Counseling PLLC

White Plains NY 10603

Offering counseling for Christian Women Hurt by Medical Trauma & Endometriosis

Your pain is real. Your faith still matters. Your healing is possible.