While completing my culminating project for my Doctor of Behavioral Health, I interviewed many Black women about their lived experiences receiving medical care, specifically their retrospective experiences with perinatal and postpartum care. The participant I will focus on in this article has a robust history of medical treatment for medical concerns. She described healthcare as an ongoing process of self-advocacy and having to establish credibility before her concerns were taken seriously. Her experiences were shaped not only by the complexity of managing an autoimmune disease with multiple healthcare providers, but also by being a Black woman navigating a healthcare system where she felt her symptoms were minimized. Specifically, during her pregnancy, she experienced significant pain that providers did not initially believe or adequately address. It was not until her pain became visibly unbearable during labor that she was finally taken seriously.
These experiences heightened her awareness of the need to self-advocate, find providers who would listen, and seek care from clinicians willing to see her as a whole person. She described intentionally maintaining relationships with providers who demonstrate cultural understanding, listen actively, do additional research, and collaborate with her around her care. For her, feeling heard was not simply about receiving a diagnosis or treatment; it was about providers recognizing the person behind the symptoms.
The participant also described an emotional consequence of encounters that felt transactional or dismissive. When mental health screening felt like a “check the box” exercise rather than a genuine conversation, she became less willing to share the full extent of what she was experiencing. Although she might answer the questions, she would not necessarily disclose the deeper emotional concerns if she sensed that the provider did not genuinely care. Feeling dismissed can make patients more protective and selective about what they disclose, creating another barrier to comprehensive treatment.
Providing comprehensive care includes the patient’s intersectional identities. Her experiences reflected the intersection of race, gender, culture, and healthcare. She described recognizing that Black women may be perceived differently. She emphasized that providers cannot effectively care for Black women while claiming not to “see color”. She preferred providers to understand the historical and cultural context that shapes trust, communication, and care collaboration. At the same time, she emphasized that culturally responsive care does require listening, seeking to understand, acknowledging what they do not know, and collaborating rather than assuming.
Ultimately, the emotional cost was not simply frustration with individual healthcare encounters. It was the burden of having to persistently demonstrate that her pain, experiences, and emotional needs were genuine before receiving care. Her desired healthcare experience was one in which she did not have to prove that she was hurting to be believed.
Patients should not have to become advocates or researchers when they are visiting their physicians for care. They should not have to bring evidence simply to be believed. They also should not have to wait until their case, symptoms or pain becomes unbearable before someone listens. While asking “How can we determine what is going on with this patient?” we can ask “What can I do to make sure this patient feels seen and heard to share their whole self, to get the individual care they deserve?”
NR Jiggetts
Replay Counseling and Consulting 