Conversations That Heal

What happens when you grow up loved and supported, but there is still a part of you wondering where you came from?

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I sit down with Dr. Adam Anthony for a powerful conversation about foster care, adoption, identity, faith, and the journey of finding yourself.

Dr. Anthony was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, abandoned at the hospital, placed in foster care, and eventually adopted through a fos...

Have you ever spent so much time waiting for someone else to choose you that you forgot to ask whether you were choosing yourself?

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I’m talking about the emotional toll of waiting to be chosen, in relationships, friendships, family, careers, and even spaces where we have spent years trying to prove that we belong.

For some of us, this started long before adulthood.

When you grow up b...

Choose Me Differently: My Story & the Start of Conversations That Heal

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I’m taking you back to the beginning, not just the beginning of this podcast, but pieces of the story that shaped the woman behind the microphone.

On the day before my 49th birthday, I find myself reflecting on my life with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I share pieces of my childhood growing up in New S...

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I sit down with breast cancer survivor, author, speaker, and advocate Cynthia Smalls for a powerful conversation about surviving breast cancer, learning to love your changing body, advocating for yourself, and finding purpose after diagnosis.

Cynthia shares how a 3D mammogram in 2016 helped detect an aggressive form of breast cancer early and how her own experience revealed a lack of brea...

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I’m talking about what it means to choose gratitude when life doesn’t feel good.

Gratitude doesn’t mean denying sadness, anger, grief, relationship endings, financial stress, or disappointment. It means recognizing that even in difficult seasons, there can still be something worth holding onto.

I share pieces of my own therapy journey, including the fear I once had about...

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I sit down with Dr. Monica Sines for a powerful conversation about healing, boundaries, authenticity, and discovering the beauty of who you truly are.

Dr. Monica shares how her journey as a veteran, pharmacist, author, and singer helped her move from survival mode to a place of peace and freedom. Tog...

Grief, Purpose & Gratitude Can Coexist | Conversations That Heal with Dr. Stephanie Jeffreys After stepping away from Conversations That Heal since May 11, I'm finally ready to share why. During my time away, I realized I wasn't just taking a break. I was actively navigating grief, loneliness, and what I now recognize as a silent depression following the loss of my best friend, Derika. One of the most surprising things I've l...

Stop Self-Abandonment: How I Learned to Set Boundaries, Trust Myself, and Say No | Dr. Stephanie Jeffreys

In this episode, I talk about self-abandonment as a coping mechanism I learned from being taught to play small and believe that my voice didn’t matter. I walk through what that has looked like in my own life, saying yes when I really wanted to say no, staying in draining relationships, prioritizing everyone else’s n...

On this episode of Conversations That Heal, I sit down with JaHana Holloway to have a powerful and honest conversation about abuse that goes beyond physical signs, emotional, psychological, verbal, and financial abuse.

JaHana shares her story with deep vulnerability, taking us back to her childhood, where she ran away at just 14 and was coerced by an adult. She opens up about how those early experiences shaped her sense of self, le...

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, I talk about survival mode, the way many of us learned to function just to make it through life. For me, survival started early. I didn’t have the option to fall apart. I had to be strong, responsible, and aware of everything around me. But what helped me survive then, followed me into adulthood.

I share how survival mode can show up as overachieving, overextending, and always feeli...

 In this Q&A episode of Conversations That Heal, I open the door for real, honest conversation by answering questions submitted by listeners at info@sdjeffreys.com I share what “choosing you” truly looks like in everyday life, through small, intentional decisions, learning to say no, and finally prioritizing yourself after realizing what it feels like to be poured out and depleted from putting everyone else fir...

I wrote a letter to my younger self, and it changed something in me.

Not the strong version of me you see today. But the little girl who felt unseen, unloved, and unprotected.

I spoke to Diane. I apologized. I affirmed. I released.

And for the first time, I made her a promise, I will never abandon you again.

This episode is deeply personal, but it’s also an invitation.

If you’ve ever carried shame from your past If part...

When people think about grief, they often think about death.

But grief can come from many different experiences in life.

We can grieve lost opportunities. We can grieve relationships that ended. We can grieve the version of ourselves that existed before trauma. And sometimes we grieve the life we thought we would have.

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, Dr. Stephanie Jeffreys explores the many forms of grief that people ca...

Some of the most powerful healing in our lives happens quietly.

It happens in the moments when we are alone with our thoughts, processing pain, setting boundaries, and making the difficult decision to grow.

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, Dr. Stephanie Jeffreys explores why real healing often happens in silence and how private transformation can lead to powerful change in our lives.

If you feel like you're doing the wor...

Many people spend years accepting the bare minimum in relationships, friendships, and even in the way they treat themselves.

Sometimes it comes from past trauma. Sometimes it comes from believing we have to earn love, attention, or respect.

In this episode of Conversations That Heal, Dr. Stephanie Jeffreys explores what it means to recognize your worth and stop settling for less than you deserve. She discusses how healing helps us ...

In this heartfelt episode of Conversations That Heal, Dr. Stephanie Diane Jeffreys sits down with Liz Albanis, senior yoga teacher and host of Yoga for Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga, to explore how trauma truly lives in the body not just the mind.

After surviving childhood sexual assault, miscarriage, the loss of her mother, and two house fires, Liz shares how traditional yoga wasn’t always healing and how trauma-informed, s...

For so long, you’ve been the strong one.

The dependable one.

The one who shows up for everyone else even when it costs you yourself. But what happens when you finally decide to choose you? In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the courage it takes to stop abandoning yourself to keep others comfortable.

Choosing you isn’t selfish it’s sacred. It’s the moment you stop shrinking, stop overgivi...

They Are Not Your Responsibility

There comes a moment in healing when you realize that love does not require self-abandonment.

In today’s episode of Conversations That Heal, we’re talking about one of the hardest truths to accept: they are not your responsibility.

Not their healing. Not their choices. Not their emotional regulation. Not the outcomes of their lives.

If you’ve been the fixer, the caretaker, the emot...

Episode Title: From New Age to New Life: Finding Peace, Purpose, and Partnership Through Christ with Tamisha Souza

In this powerful episode of Conversations That Heal, Dr. Stephanie Diane Jeffreys sits down with Tamisha Souza—a Christian dating coach and mentor for men who want to pursue marriage with clarity, confidence, and Christ at the center.

Tamisha opens up about her journey from the New Age movement to fully surrender...