Healing is the Revolution

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode we go over the last details about doula care we haven't covered yet so that our host, Iman, can finally decide if she should get a doula or not. To wrap up, all of the guests come back to discuss the remaining logistics, like when you should hire a doula, the importance of finding the right doula for you, and how much doula services typically cost in the...

Send us Fan Mail “Black maternal health is a public health crisis. ” - Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell  It is impossible to critically discuss maternal and child health in the US without talking about race and the challenges Black birthing families face; but luckily, doulas play a crucial role in addressing health disparities and closing equity gaps. In this episode, Tasia, Arlet, Jen, and Dr. Gillisp...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what it takes to become a doula? This episode centers features Tasia and Jen as they share their journeys into this field and the special training they received that has shaped their practices and their philosophies about doula work. They emphasize the need to establish trust not only with the birthing person, but with their family and/or partner, as well, and this e...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we hear from Allison, Arlet, Tasia, and Jen as they recount real birth stories from the perspectives of birthing people and doulas themselves. The episode shares information such as how doulas educate birthing families, what it means to create a birth plan, the kinds of support doulas provide during labor — hands on, emotionally, and otherwise — and how they help y...

Send us Fan Mail In this inaugural episode, host Iman Shervington invites you on a journey into deciding whether or not she should get a doula. Mothers Arlet and Allison, doulas Jen and Tasia, and OB/GYN Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell break down the basics by explaining what a doula is and what a doula does to support healthy birthing experiences. They also clarify the difference between a doula and...

Send us Fan Mail Should I Get A Doula? is the newest podcast from the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES) , this time hosted by IWES’ own Sr. Director of Media & Communications, Iman Shervington...and yes, she is the daughter of our previous Healing Is the Revolution (HITR) host, Dr. Denese Shervington! In true HITR fashion Iman speaks one-on-one with special guests to get their first...

Send us Fan Mail This episode focuses on one man’s journey to care for himself and his community during a time of loss and hardship. Flozell’s childhood epitomized the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” as he grew up in a tight-knit and supportive family and community. But within every community, there is a tragedy, and the loss of Flozell’s son significantly impacted his path in life....

Send us Fan Mail This episode explores the concept of freedom in two very different expressions. First, we hear back from Arnold, who exemplifies the idea that 60 is the new age of enlightenment. With every year, Arnold has found it easier to let go of his anxieties, his control, and the ghosts of his past that haunt him. Thanks to this new approach to life, Arnold has shed many of his self-impose...

Send us Fan Mail This episode focuses on two women that are dedicated to breaking the cycle of trauma in their families and who are using their stories as a means to help heal others. First, we hear from Lauren, a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, and pediatrician, who feels that there was no amount of training that could have prepared her for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the difficu...

Send us Fan Mail This episode focuses on two people whose healing journeys have been highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unique processes each one uses to cope. In spite of the traumatic experiences that marked his childhood, Brennan’s resilient spirit kept him on his path to become a devoted father and beloved math teacher. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has majorly impacted both him an...

Send us Fan Mail If pain is indeed inspiration for art, then poet, health advocate, and educator Nikki Napoleon’s first few decades were not short of material. From the layers of trauma in her home - heartbreakingly brushed off as “just learned behavior” by relatives who could have intervened - to losing some of her beloved siblings, Nikki could have drowned in a reservoir of pain. But “Earth Ange...

Send us Fan Mail Since the age of four, artist and activist Jasmine Davis was very clear about who she was, yet she felt burdened by the weight of other people’s prejudice, expectations and projections onto her, and she had to constantly navigate this lack of acceptance and understanding everywhere in her world—from church, to school, to even within her own family. Finally successful in her self d...

Send us Fan Mail Today Brennan Jacques is a thriving middle-school teacher, and a football and basketball coach, yet in his own words his early life “was not pretty.” The memories that play on repeat in his head aren't all bright and positive like the once in a lifetime community trip he took to Disney World, rather he is still plagued by a horrific situation that unfolded right in front of h...

Send us Fan Mail Despite all, bodyworker, healer and writer Amy Stewart gently reminds herself that “I’m better now than I was back then.” And that is saying a lot, because by the age of nine she had already experienced enough trauma to feel that the world and everything around her was sad. Amy reveals how that young girl - hurt, angry, and feeling unprotected - succumbed to harmful outlets to esc...

Send us Fan Mail  Dr. James is a psychologist, but today he is not going to be a therapist, he’s just going to be Arnold. On the other side of the couch, Arnold talks candidly with Dr. Shervington about his first few decades, which were lived under the inhibiting weight of unwavering rules and expectations; breaking free from that weight is his life’s journey. Through deep reflection, accented by...

Send us Fan Mail Daddy’s girl Lauren Teverbaugh has fulfilled her father’s mantra, “excellence, nothing less,” and is now a board-certified child psychiatrist, adult psychiatrist, and pediatrician. Despite tumultuous changes in her family unit starting when she was a mere five years old, her dad showed up for her and her sister, and she believed that he always would...until the day he didn’t. In t...

Send us Fan Mail Flozell Daniels’s story is rather unique, yet some may say it's unfortunately not uncommon. These days Flozell thrives as the President and CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana, likely possible through the foundation he received growing up in an African American community in New Orleans that was idyllic and secure despite its issues. In this episode Flozell speaks of strong ma...

Send us Fan Mail Gina Brown could have settled with being one of many tragic stories of a human’s inability to claw beyond circumstances outside of her control. Beginning at just four and a half years old, Gina has endured a history of abuse, a devastating health diagnosis, failed familial relationships, self denial, and substance use. Yet instead of succumbing to the trauma, after a lot of work G...