SPFPP 318: You Don't Need a License to Heal

I used to get asked “Why don’t you become a therapist?”. Honestly, I think my experience living with herpes and being able to share about it out loud provides some level of rapport with the populations I serve that if I were a licensed mental health professional working with people who struggle with herpes stigma, I just wouldn’t be able to connect as well. I believe my role may be to empower therapists with the experiences people share with folks living with herpes and to empower people directly living with herpes to see what is possible on the other side of stigma. The route I’ve chosen in order to have some kind of ‘expertise’ behind me has been Yoga. As a 500 hour registered Yoga instructor and as of October 2025, a Yoga Therapist in training (expected to complete certification requirements in 2026 FYI) I have structure to serve people by helping them navigate herpes stigma. It’s a structure aligned with values and beliefs that have a history and are respected and what’s taught is rooted in a combination of science and spirituality, which means I can speak the diverse language. But anyone can witness someone with presence, and that’s the healing I believe I provide for people. The freedom in living openly as someone with herpes gives that permission to others to do the same. It’s my experience as a podcaster interconnected with those values that amplify the quality of my service I can’t get as a therapist.