DOMINIQUE WALKER shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
DOMINIQUE, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
What I’m most proud of building, hands down, is the kind of childhood my sons get to live every day. One that centers their joy, nurtures their creativity, and honors their full humanity. I’m intentional about creating space for Black Boy joy but not as a buzzword, instead as a real lived experience in our household. It’s in the laughter during bedtime stories, the freedom to feel all their emotions, and the protection of their innocence in a world that often rushes Black boys to grow up too soon.
I had a good childhood, and I hold gratitude for that. But I also remember the dis-ease, the disruptions that left imprints, even when everything looked “fine” on the surface. So now, I parent with purpose. I build with healing in mind. I pray that what my sons carry from their early years isn’t pain they have to unpack later, but pride. True pride in how they were loved, seen, and protected. That quiet, daily work of generational healing and joy-building is what I’m most proud of……even if no one ever sees it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Dominique Walker, Licensed Professional Counselor, Clinical Supervisor and Owner of Healing Matters Professional Counseling Services. I often describe myself as both a healer and a witness. My work is rooted in lived experience. I know what it means to carry weight in silence, to grow up in spaces where things looked good on the surface but felt more challenging underneath. My personal journey toward understanding, healing, and wholeness is what ultimately led me to create my practice, Healing Matters Professional Counseling Services.
Healing Matters is more than a therapy practice, it’s a space of liberation. We provide culturally grounded mental health support that centers the needs, identities, and lived experiences of Black and Brown individuals and families. Our mission is simple but radical: to create room for people to heal out loud, without shame, and without having to over-explain themselves. It’s care that’s familiar, affirming, and deeply intentional. We center our care around trauma informed practices and ensure wholistic care is woven throughout the work.
What makes this work special to me is how it continues to evolve. Healing doesn’t stop at the therapy room and neither do we. That’s why I also created our Healing Matters Monthly Meetups. Our Monthly meetups offer free or low cost, community-centered conversations and activities around mental health, wellness, self-care, and collective healing. We’ve also partnered on community panels and healthcare fairs as we continue to build community trust and positive conversations around mental health.
Right now, I’m building something I’ve dreamed about for years, Simonne’s Place. Named after two woman, my late grandmothers, whose legacies are woven into mine and their essence are at the foundation of this project. Simonne’s Place is a developing retreat and respite space created especially for Black women and caregivers. It will be a sanctuary, a place for rest, reflection, and restoration where women can “grieve, grow and glow”. They both taught me we deserve safe spaces and I want to share that with my community.
As our practice grows, so does our commitment to the next generation. We’re passionate about mentoring and supporting future clinicians in providing competent, holistic, and culturally rooted care. The goal is not just to grow the field, but to transform it. In doing so we ensure that more of us are equipped to show up fully for our communities, with skill, integrity, and heart.
At the heart of it all, my work is about creating what I didn’t always have. I’m building spaces that say: you are worthy, you are seen, and your healing matters.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed even if I couldn’t fully name it that I couldn’t have “everything”. I believed that somehow, I would have to compromise parts of myself to be accepted. That I had to shrink, code-switch, or choose between success and authenticity. I thought I had to earn my place in certain rooms, or soften my voice to be taken seriously. Those beliefs were rooted in survival and I recognize they did not only exist for me but many of us carry them without even realizing it.
Adulthood, especially entrepreneurship has taught me different. I now know that the life I desire IS possible. I no longer believe I have to trade parts of myself for success or happiness. Through effort, learning, prayer, and community, I’ve created spaces that reflect my full self. I’ve learned that outcomes aren’t about pleasing others instead they’re shaped by my vision, my values, and my willingness to do the work.
That shift in belief didn’t fall out of the sky. It came, in part, from someone who saw me long before I saw myself, my grandfather, Thomas. He was the first person who looked at me like anything was possible. There was no hesitation, no doubt. If I said I wanted to do something, he believed it would happen and most importantly, he acted accordingly. Whether I was focused on getting good grades, joining new groups, or simply wanting to earn a few dollars for the weekend, he was there. He let me work in his business, cheered on my goals, and showed me what unwavering support looks like in action.
Neither “no” nor “you can’t” existed in that relationship and I carry that with me today in how I lead, how I parent, and how I serve my community through Healing Matters. Our practice is built on the same foundation: the belief that we are worthy of healing, of joy, and of building lives we don’t have to recover from. I may have once believed I had to settle but now, I know I was made to create, to thrive, and to take up space fully.
And I’m committed to helping others believe that, too.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain when I realized I didn’t have to be perfect in order to be a good therapist. For a period of time, I carried this unspoken belief, or maybe it was doubt, that I had to have it all figured out to truly support others in their healing. That in order to help people build lives they could be proud of, mine had to look flawless. Believe it or not that pressure to be “healed” before helping others almost kept me from fully stepping into my purpose.
Over time, through deep reflection, my own therapy, and a lot of self-work, I came to understand something life-changing: being on a healing journey doesn’t disqualify you from guiding others. Just because I’m still walking my path doesn’t mean my compass is broken. If anything, it’s sharper! It makes me more compassionate, more grounded, and more real.
Now, I sit with people every day who trust me with their most vulnerable stories and more often than not, I recognize those stories because I’ve lived them. In those moments, I know without a doubt that God prepared me for this. My experiences weren’t in vain. They shaped my capacity to hold space with empathy, without judgment, and with a kind of knowing that only comes from having walked through it yourself.
Using my pain as power doesn’t mean I’ve stopped feeling it. It means I’ve repurposed it. It means I’ve chosen to turn it into something that liberates and puts me in position to hold space for every person who comes through the doors of Healing Matters looking for a space to be seen, heard, and held.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
If you asked the people closest to me what really matters to me, I know they’d say: my family, healing, both for myself and others, my work, my peace, and protecting my joy. They’ve watched me build a life that’s rooted in those values, even when it meant making hard choices or going against the grain.
They’ve seen me prioritize motherhood with intention, making sure my children feel seen, supported, and free to be themselves. They’ve witnessed my commitment to personal growth including everything from deep self-work to setting boundaries that honor my peace. They know how much I care about the work I do through Healing Matters, and how passionate I am about creating space for others to heal and thrive.
The ones closest to me also know I believe in balance. That success means nothing if I’m not happy or healthy. So self-care isn’t just something I talk about, it’s something I live. Whether it’s travel, quiet mornings, or monthly days of rest, I make space for the things that keep me whole.
At the end of the day, my friends would probably say that what matters most to me is living in alignment, making sure that the life I’m building reflects the love, purpose, and healing I want to leave behind.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m traveling, especially when I can combine it with stillness and alone time. There’s something sacred about being away from the constant rhythm of responsibility. As a mother, a wife, and a business owner, I carry a lot and I’ve come to understand that in order to pour into others, I have to first be poured into. Stepping away, even briefly, allows me to breathe deeply, listen to my spirit, and come back to myself.
That realization did not happen overnight. It’s the result of years of self-work, reflection, and unlearning the belief that rest has to be earned. I now truly understand that peace is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. So, I make it a priority. I commit to traveling at least quarterly, and I carve out one day each month to focus on ME. I focus on redirecting the energy used to be productive toward rest and rejuvenation instead.
This practice isn’t about escape, it’s about alignment. This is part of what inspired the vision for “Simonne’s Place”, a space that will offer other women, especially Black women and caregivers, the same opportunity to pause, to reflect, and to restore themselves without guilt. I plan to continue to honor the belief that peace should not be a rare occasion instead it should be a prioritized and protected.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.myhealingmatters.com
- Instagram: @myhealingmatters
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Healing-Matters/100079149968877/#
- Other: Therapy For Black Girls: https://providers.therapyforblackgirls.com/listing/dominique-d-walker-lpc-ncc/
Image Credits
Katrina Cross Photography
Bwalk.Visuals
