Artist Statement
This piece reflects on my experience navigating depression during medical training and the unexpected ways community can foster healing. Healing does not always occur within clinical settings. Through this narrative, I explore how returning to faith and the support of a church community helped restore hope during a difficult season of my life. Writing this essay allowed me to reflect on how vulnerability and lived experience can shape a more compassionate and present physician.
Recommended Citation
Barletti Benel, Pierina S.
(2026)
"A Place Where I Was Finally Seen,"
be Still: Vol. 11, Article 12.
Available at:
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/bestill/vol11/iss1/12
ORCID ID
0009-0005-6553-4198
COinS
About the Artist
Pierina S. Barletti Benel is a medical student at Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. Born in Lima, Peru, she is passionate about caring for underserved communities and hopes to pursue a career in surgery. Outside of medicine, she enjoys dancing bachata, strength training, and being involved in her church community, which has played a significant role in her personal growth during medical training. Through reflective writing, she explores the intersection of faith, resilience, and medicine.