Speak Out Loud

Stacee and Doug sit down with Speak Out Loud's content creator, Addi Suenram and her husband, Merritt, to talk about Addi's battle with cancer when she was 18. Addi and Merritt are high school sweethearts, walking the cancer journey together as a young couple. Listen to how God carried Addi through cancer and gave her Victory in every circumstance. Merritt shares how God used this difficul...

In this episode, Stacee and Doug share a "kitchen table conversation" with friend and Biblical Counselor, Kaitlin Niles, on the topic of suffering and the often overlooked Biblical practice of lament. As Kaitlin shares, often her clients struggle with the "why" of their suffering, wondering if God has forgotten or abandoned them in the pain they are journeying through. Throughout the conversation,...

Self-Injury is a complex and often difficult to understand mental health crisis - both for those who suffer and for families and friends who care for those facing this battle. In this episode, Stacee and guest and friend Brittany Tinsley share a conversation about their shared experience of struggling with self-injury and also of finding hope and healing in their recovery journeys. Out of that exp...

In this episode, Stacee and frequent guest, LPC Phoebe Barron, share an honest, real, and vulnerable conversations about the struggles and hopes of living with chronic mental illness. Wherever you are in your mental health journey, you'll find hard-earned wisdom and encouragement, both from Stacee's journey and Phoebe's depth of experience and compassion as a therapist. Learn more abou...

In this episode of the Speak Out Loud podcast. Stacee and Doug share a vulnerable and powerful conversation with Bret and Anne about their family's journey of navigating a schizophrenia diagnosis for their young adult child. Bret and Anne share a wealth of experience, compassion and hope for families who may be on a similar mental illness journey with a loved one or friend. Bret and Anne share hon...

On September 3, 2024 Rick Thompson suffered a massive stroke while traveling in Costa Rica. At his wife's urging, a 6 hour cab ride to the nearest hospital saved his life. Following his stroke, Rick woke up the next morning blind and unable to move the left side of his body. The weeks and months ahead began an incredible journey of ongoing rehabilitation, returning to his role as senior Pastor of...

We are so pleased to share this episode as Stacee interviews friend of Speak Out Loud, Brittany Tinsley, to talk about her new book coming out this fall - Stories Our Scars Tell: Hope, Healing, and Honesty about the Wounds We Carry .Stacee and Brittany share an honest an vulnerable conversation about their shared experience of struggling with self-harm and how they have found hope and live day to...

We are so pleased to share this episode with our new friends, Pam Kanaly and Mel Hiett of Arise Single Moms! Born out of her own experience as a single mother, Pam founded Arise Single Moms over 20 years ago in Oklahoma and their influence has spread across the United States. After a career in youth ministry, Mel serves with Pam as the Project Development Director for Arise. Born out of their pers...

It's no secret teenagers today are facing a mental health crisis. Anxiety, depression, self-harming behaviors and other difficult mental health challenges are now part of the minefield tweens and teens and their parents have to navigate almost daily in the teenage experience. We are so grateful for long-time friend Amanda Wright and her daughter, Kinzley, joining us today to talk about these menta...

In April of 2025, we launched the Speak Out Loud YouTube Channel, and as part of introducing ourself to a new audience on this platform, we've gone back to share our story and the story of Speak Out Loud. We are not therapists of doctors, but we do feel like we are experts in authentically sharing our story and the hard-learned lessons of living many years in the ups and downs of our mental il...

In April of 2025, we launched the Speak Out Loud YouTube Channel, and as part of introducing ourself to a new audience on this platform, we've gone back to share our story and the story of Speak Out Loud. We are not therapists of doctors, but we do feel like we are experts in authentically sharing our story and the hard-learned lessons of living many years in the ups and downs of our mental illnes...

As part of the National Eating Disorders Awareness week (February 24-March 2), Stacee and Doug interview Rebel Buersmeyer, LMFT, therapist and current President of the Oklahoma Eating Disorders Association. Eating Disorders are complex illnesses impacting over 28 million Americans and their families during the course of their lifetime. Eating disorders have the 2nd highest mortality rate of mental...

Borderline Personality Disorder  - a painful and often misunderstood diagnosis.  Often born out of intense and/or lengthy experiences of trauma and lack of secure attachment, for those who suffer, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can be a source of great pain, fear, and mental and emotional instability.  For those who love someone struggling with BPD, it can feel like there's a "hole...

What do you do when you come to the end of your rope - when you come to end of your own capacity to make life work apart from God? In this encore presentation, a shared experience and connection bring Doug and special guest, Morgan Snyder of Become Good Soil and author of Becoming a King , together for a conversation about carrying hope for a spouse in a mental health crisis. Doug and Morgan's...

Today's release is an encore presentation of one the most difficult episodes and topics to record for Stacee and Doug.  For Stacee, this topic and story is deeply vulnerable, personal, painful and still tough to talk about. The topic of self-harm continues to be a struggle for many, and the content is this episode is relevant for those who may struggle and for those who love and support them. In t...

Can joy and peace be  experienced while battling depression and anxiety? Can we know God loves us even as we suffer? Has God abandoned or rejected me because I struggle with mental illness?   In this encore presentation, Stacee and Doug dive into these questions and more as they share a vulnerable and authentic conversation about following Jesus while living with mental illness. God knows your min...

In today's encore presentation of the Speak Out Loud podcast, Stacee and Doug share an interview with friend and LPC Phoebe Barron on the impacts and pain of trauma, felt even many years after its original source and cause. Trauma.... it sounds so extreme. And to those who experience trauma's pain and power, it can be just that daunting. Through this interview with LPC and trauma specialis...

For the next several weeks we are pleased to present several "Encore" presentations of past Speak Out Loud episodes! This week, we are going back to the early releases of Speak Out Loud with a re-release of episode 4, "Finding Hope in the Darkness of Depression." "Depression can feel like you are swimming with all your clothes on- like you are being overwhelmed and drug under and that it's impossi...

In this episode, Stacee and Doug dive into some of the topics and themes in Stacee's new book, The Boat That Wouldn't Sink. Forgiveness, loss, recovery and the impact of breaking cycles of brokenness and abuse are covered in this book as they form the story of Stacee's ongoing mental illness recovery journey and this memoir. As Stacee shares her story from the messy middle of her life and story, y...

In this episode Doug interviews Stacee about her new book, The Boat That Wouldn't Sink - available now! More than a metaphor,  The Boat That Wouldn’t Sink  is a story of a life shaped by trauma, plagued by mental illness,  but rescued by hope . For years, Stacee tried to escape the family trauma which so deeply impacted her adolescence and created the foundation for such intense mental illness thr...

This "Best Of" Episode is a selection from a 3-part series Stacee and Doug recorded in Season 1 of the Speak Out Loud podcast talking about Stacee's lengthy battle with chronic anorexia. Anorexia's roots go back into Stacee's teenage years and have been a life-long struggle for which she continues ongoing outpatient therapy. This segment is a conversation between Stacee and D...

In the month of April, we're going to be sharing several "Best Of" Episodes - selecting several key selections from some of our most impactful episodes to date. If you're new to the Speak Out Loud podcast and would like a taste of some of our content or if you'd like a refresh on some of our previous content, we'd love for you to listen! Today's "Best Of" ep...

In this episode, Doug and long-time friend, Richard Covington, conclude the SOL Podcast series on the intersection of faith and mental illness. Richard serves as the Executive Pastor of the Heights Church in Richardson, TX. His background includes a Masters Degree in Counseling and over 35 years in church and pastoral ministry serving youth, families, leading missions, pastoral care, and administr...

In this episode, Stacee and Doug continue their series focused on the intersection of faith and mental illness as they share a conversation with LPCs, friends and frequent guests Brenda Elledge and Phoebe Barron. Phoebe and Brenda join with Stacee and Doug to answer questions about pursuing authentic help and recovery while integrating faith in all areas of life including the mental health journey...

We are so thrilled in today's episode to be joined by friend and mental health advocate, Susie Gurley! Susie is the host and creator of the "Just A Mom Podcast" where she talks with other parents and guests about the mental health issues kids face. Susie's voice on this topic began in some of the darkest days of her and her family's lives but have ended with hope - and that&#...