Embarking on your healing journey can be a very transformative experience, but it can feel overwhelming and even intimidating when endured alone. Dr. Cosha S. Joseph, a licensed counselor with over 13 years of clinical experience in behavioral health, has created a space to make this journey feel less daunting and more liberating with The HERSoul Experience.
This 2-3 day immersive brings women together to confront their trauma head-on by sharing their stories, gathering tools for healing, and building intentional community.
In an interview with BAUCE, Dr. Joseph tells us more about her story, from the early days in her mental health career to navigating her personal grief, all while emphasizing the importance of having the courage to heal.
A Calling Born from Experience
Dr. Joseph’s path to mental health advocacy began early as she witnessed family struggles with mental health challenges. Growing up, she saw firsthand the effects of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety on her mother’s side of the family. From a young age, she rose up as the go-to caregiver for family members facing mental health crises.
“I was always in that ‘helping mode’ when it came to their mental state,” Dr. Joseph recalls. This early exposure, combined with her work at Child Protection Services, ignited her passion for counseling. Today, she leads A Safe Place Counseling LLC, a CARF-accredited outpatient behavioral health agency serving both children and adults.
When the Healer Needed Healing
Despite her expertise in guiding others through their healing journeys, Dr. Joseph struggled to face her own grief after losing her father. For years, she kept busy with work, finding ways to run from the pain rather than confronting it directly. This unnerving experience is what ultimately sparked the creation of The HerSoul Experience.
“I made up my mind that I wanted to attack my healing journey from losing my dad head-on,” she explains. The process began with creating the HerSoul affirmation journal—a tool to help her process her thoughts and focus on healing. Paying homage to her father, she released it on his birthday, December 27. Soon after its publication, she felt called to expand the concept.
“God told me to take that a step further: do a conference,” Dr. Joseph says. “I wanted this to actually be an experience; I wanted women to come in and experience something different.”
Creating Sacred Space for Vulnerable Healing
The HerSoul Experience addresses a fundamental truth about trauma recovery: healing can be scary, and people don’t want to be vulnerable alone. Dr. Joseph recognized that traditional therapy settings, while valuable, don’t always provide the community aspect that can accelerate healing.
“The HerSoul space gets women in a room with other women who have gone through the same trauma as them,” she explains. “We give you the clinical tools, but we also give you the tools on the spiritual side to be able to embark on your healing journey.”
The experience has touched cities including Orlando and Houston, with Chicago set as the next destination for a two-day event on October 24-25.
The Transformative Impact
Women who attend The HerSoul Experience can expect to gain three key elements: insight, community, and clarity. But the impact goes much deeper.
Participants find themselves in a safe environment where vulnerability is not only welcomed but celebrated. They discover that their trauma doesn’t have to be an obstacle that prevents them from moving forward. Instead, they learn to process their experiences and find strength in their stories.
“These women have really been vulnerable and formed sisterhoods,” Dr. Joseph notes. “I always get emotional after the event because this is what I want to see. This release. Your trauma is not going to continue to affect you in your life.”
The experience provides practical tools for healing while addressing the unique challenges that Black women face. Dr. Joseph acknowledges that as a culture, anxiety and depression have long been prevalent but rarely discussed openly. The HerSoul Experience creates space for these conversations while helping women rediscover their identity beyond their roles as wives, mothers, and caregivers.
“I always ask women, ‘Who are you without the titles?'” Dr. Joseph says. “A lot of times, we can’t say that because we don’t know.”
The central principle of The HerSoul Experience is confronting trauma rather than avoiding it. Dr. Joseph emphasizes that when we suppress and avoid our pain, it often manifests in negative ways that affect not only ourselves but those around us.
“In order for us to become our best selves and to really flourish, it’s important for us to process everything that we go through,” she explains.
A Vision for Continued Growth
Dr. Joseph envisions expanding The HerSoul Experience to reach even more women across different cities while building a robust online community. Her goal is to create a space where women can access ongoing support and accountability without the financial barrier of traditional therapy.
“I see big things coming for HerSoul,” Dr. Joseph says. “It’s going to encourage more women not to be afraid to say, ‘You know what, I think I’m ready to do this.'”
The HerSoul Experience represents more than just a conference—it’s a movement that recognizes healing as both a personal journey and a collective responsibility. For women who have spent years carrying the weight of their experiences alone, it offers something revolutionary: the understanding that healing doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. For more information about upcoming HerSoul Experience events, visit the official website. Follow Dr. Cosha Joseph on Instagram for updates and inspiration.
