Episode 005: Buried Wounds and Healing at Any Age, Part 2 with Janyne McConnaughey Ph.D.

Examine Your Hedman

Your hosts, Tara Hedman and Diane Thompson, welcome you to another episode of Examine Your Hedman Podcast. They are joined today by Janyne McConnaughey, Ph.D., nationally known trauma-informed author & advocate. She is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tabor College (Masters in Education: Neuroscience & Trauma) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN). Janyne builds on her forty-year career in teaching, teacher education, and an expertise in early childhood development to help educators, caregivers, and church ministry workers understand and apply trauma-informed practices.

This episode is the second part of an amazing conversation with Janyne where she shares how life is for her today as a trauma survivor, someone who learned to set boundaries while defining her sense of self. In today’s episode, Janyne also dives deep into the meaning of spiritual abuse and how she redefined her relationship with God as a crucial part of her healing journey. It is never too late to heal, and it is always worth it.

Life really can suck less, so examine your head, man!

Key Takeaways:

[1:15] What life is like for Janyne now.

[2.16] Janyne defines rumbling.

[4:15] Janyne talks about the transformative experience of learning to set a boundary.

[4:53] Building a sense of self.

[6:20] It’s hard to set boundaries when you don’t believe you deserve to be your own person.

[7:17] How do you define boundaries?

[12:23] Janyne talks about spiritual abuse.

[19:52] The lack of understanding when it comes to the effects of trauma.

[21:55] Tara talks about her first experience in therapy.

[25:33] Tara and Janyne talk about leadership and abuse.

[27:30] Janyne talks about how understanding God’s role in her suffering was crucial in her healing journey.

[28:15] Janyne shares why she didn’t include the term spiritual trauma in her third book.

[34:53] Everyone has the right to grow up, transform, and change.

[36:53] Janyne realized there was a part of her that was so much like her mother.

[38:40] What does Janyne’s therapy journey look like today?

[44:12] Being a model of vulnerability in the process of healing has great value for others around you.

[47:24] Janyne talks about finally feeling safe in her own skin.

[51:48] Walking into a therapist’s office might be the bravest thing you will ever do.

Mentioned in this episode:

Hedman Wellness

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Learn more about Janyne McConnaughey

Brave: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood Trauma, Janyne McConnaughey

Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal, Donna Jackson Nakazawa

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, Jeff Van Vonderen

God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, Thomas Jay Oord

This podcast is not a substitute for a therapeutic relationship with a mental health professional