Christy Reichert, MSW, LICSW/LCSW, is a feminist, disability-justice oriented therapist specializing in helping professional women who live with chronic illness and/or chronic pain in Oregon and Washington state. [Image description: a photo of Christy, a small-fat white woman with short brown hair. She is laughing at something the photographer said. She is wearing a floral-pattern shirt and black pants. She is sitting at a desk in front of a computer and surrounded by books, including Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body; Doing Harm: The Truth About Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick; The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love; Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto; and Laziness Does Not Exist.]
Meet Christy Reichert*, LICSW/LCSW
Hello! My name is Christy (she), I’m a bisexual cis woman, and I’m an extrovert who loves most events where there’s food. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched The Golden Girls all the way through, and I don’t know what I would have done without them in the early days of the pandemic. I’m a night owl, and I wilt in the heat—which I define as anything above 70 degrees. I’m an adult third culture kid (TCK) who grew up in Thailand (I did a lot of wilting in the heat as a child!), so I’m deeply familiar with the push-pull of needing frequent change and adventure while also longing for the comfort and stability of a home I never had.
I’m a clinical social worker (a therapist) in the Portland metro area in Oregon. I help professional women (in Portland, Seattle, and throughout both states) who have chronic pain and/or chronic illnesses, many of whom have experienced some combination of being ignored, misdiagnosed, and gaslighted. They’re trying to be kind to themselves, to trust themselves, and to find ways to get the support that they need without having to prove that their pain is real or that they’re trying hard enough. Although it won’t be exactly like yours, this was my experience. In 2018, after 20 years of it, I finally learned that the doctors were wrong. I never had fibromyalgia; I was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (and then went on to develop POTS and MCAS—and more recently, gastroparesis and myasthenia gravis). And if you’re curious about why I chose the name Dazzling Spoons Counseling for my business, click here.
I may not know exactly what it’s like to live with your specific medical condition(s), but I know what it’s like to live with untreated illness and pain. I know what it’s like to be gaslighted by doctors. And I know what a difference it can make when someone believes and supports you.
If this sounds like you, I’d love to meet you. Click here to get started.
Training & licenses
Master’s degree in social work (MSW), Walla Walla University, 2016
LICSW (WA license)/LCSW (OR license)
*My last name has been Reichert since 2021; if you found your way here looking for Christy Olson, you’re in the right place.