Your faith is not separate from your healing. It is deeply personal, sometimes complicated, and entirely welcome here. Faith-integrated therapy at Cheerful Heart is grounded in evidence-based practice and trauma-informed care; designed for Christian women of color who have struggled to find a therapist who takes both their mental health and their relationship with God seriously.
This work creates space to process church hurt, spiritual burnout, crisis of faith, and the theological questions that chronic illness and suffering can bring up. Prayer, scripture, and clinical expertise can coexist here. You do not have to choose.
While rooted in Christian faith, Cheerful Heart warmly welcomes clients of all spiritual backgrounds and traditions.
A Sanctuary for the Shepherd: Christian Counseling for Clergy, Pastors, and Ministry Leaders
You carry everyone else’s pain, maybe a little too well. That could look like the late-night hospital visit, the Saturday funeral before the Sunday service, the marriage counseling session that ended in divorce anyway, or the board meeting that gets ugly when members disagree. Somewhere along the way, your own grief and exhaustion also got pushed aside.
Many pastors tell us they never even have time to think about how they are doing until they are seriously struggling. Confiding in a congregant, a mentor, or denominational leadership can feel like a risk to your reputation or your position. Seeing a therapist who doesn’t understand ministry can mean spending half the session explaining what your calling is or worrying that your convictions will be treated as a symptom.
A Therapist Who Speaks the Language of Ministry
Shakira K. O’Garro, LMHC-D, LPCC, LPC, NCC, is a Christian clinician who understands church life from the inside. You’ll get evidence-based, trauma-informed care from someone who respects your calling and knows the weight it carries.
What Pastors and Ministry Leaders Bring to Therapy
- Ministry burnout and compassion fatigue from years of pouring out without being refilled
- Grief and secondary trauma from walking congregants through loss and crisis
- Role strain and life in the fishbowl, where your family is on display too
- Church conflict and church hurt, including betrayal by leaders or members you trusted
- Depression and anxiety, which deserve care and say nothing about the strength of your faith or your capabilities as a leader
- Spiritual dryness or a crisis of faith you can’t voice from the pulpit or bring to God in prayer
Confidential Care Outside Your Church Circles
Sessions are held in person at our White Plains, NY office or by secure telehealth from the privacy of your home. Shakira works outside your church and denominational network, so your sessions stay separate from your ministry life. Telehealth is available in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, South Carolina, and California.
Workshops and Retreats for Clergy
Shakira also offers grief and burnout workshops for clergy and ministry teams, including support for pastors and chaplains who have been carrying heavy burdens for the last several years. Learn about our workshops.
You spend your days caring for His sheep. Let someone care for you. Book your free 15-minute consultation.
