Send us Fan Mail

Episode Summary

In this episode, Dr. Abigail sits down with Dr. Akeia Keith for a powerful conversation on conflict resolution, emotional literacy, youth mentorship, body boundaries, and the role adults play in creating safe space for young people.

Dr. Akeia shares how her own lived experience led her into this work, why anger is often only the visible layer of something deeper, and how unresolved internal conflict can spill into relationships, decision-making, self-advocacy, and even the body itself. Together, they unpack what it means to truly listen beyond words, how to cultivate judgment-free dialogue with youth, and why sexuality and body conversations must begin sooner—and more intentionally—than many adults realize.

They also discuss the upcoming CHOICES Youth and Parent Conference, a one-day live experience centered on conflict resolution, emotional literacy, communication, and mental health in youth and family systems.

About the Guest

Dr. Akeia Keith is a dynamic conflict resolution specialist, speaker, and founder dedicated to helping youth, parents, and communities communicate with clarity and confidence. Through her signature Pause, Breathe, Check-In approach, she equips individuals with practical tools to navigate tough conversations and build stronger relationships. Known for her bold, relatable, and transformative style, Dr. Keith brings real solutions to real-life challenges.

In This Episode

• Dr. Akeia’s favorite song and why “one of one” matters
• Why “lucky charm” became part of the coochie conversation
• How Dr. Akeia’s work with youth and families evolved into conflict resolution
• The real-life difference between inner conflict and outer conflict
• Why active listening requires listening beyond words
• How anger can hide fear, hurt, disappointment, and unmet needs
• How emotional conflict can show up in the body
• Why adults need to normalize conversations about boundaries, sexuality, and safety
• What a real safe space requires: dialogue, no judgment, validation, and intention

Resources Mentioned

• CHOICES Youth and Parent Conference
  May 30, 2026
  9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
  McDonough, Georgia
• Instagram: @Akeia_Keith
• Email: info@akeiakeith.com
• Song: “Bigger Things” by China Styles
• Book: Age of Opportunity by Lawrence Steinberg - video about it

Connect with Dr. Akeia Keith

Instagram: @Akeia_Keith
Email: info@akeiakeith.com

Support the Podcast

If you enjoyed this episode:

• Follow Coochie Business® wherever you listen
• Share this episode with someone raising, teaching, mentoring, or advocating for youth
• Leave a rating and review
• Subscribe for more conversations on coochie literacy, embodiment, healing, and liberation

Send questions to questions@coochiebusiness.com

Send stories to stories@coochiebusiness.com

Other inquiries: info@coochiebusiness.com

Dr. Abigail on Substack

Get on Dr. Abigail's calendar

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personal medical care.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Dr. Abigail is joined by Dr. Sarah Jefferis, a poet, writing coach, yoga teacher, and founder of Write.Now. for a conversation on writing as healing, grounding through the pelvis and breath, the relationship between trauma and embodiment, and the stories carried in coochie, blood, and voice.

Dr. Sarah shares practical wisdom on how writing blocks live in the body, why returning to the body can feel terrifying for survivors, and how yoga, breathwork, mirror work, community, and writing can help us stop speaking violence to ourselves.

The episode also features a reading of “Eastern Seaboard” from her forthcoming poetry collection Lucky to Have You, along with an excerpt from “Closed Mouth Don’t Get Fed,” a published essay reflecting on fibroids, bleeding, care, and what it means to ask for support.

Topics Covered

• Grounding through the pelvis, coochie, and breath
• Writing anxiety and embodied creative practice
• Trauma and returning to the body
• Jaw tension, vocal cords, and vaginal lips
• Yoga and writing as healing modalities
• Self-compassion and body relationship repair
• Fibroids, menstrual blood, and body shame
• Poetry as testimony and transformation

Connect with Dr. Sarah Jefferis + Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Website:
  • https://sarahjefferis.com
• Instagram: @dr.jefferis.write.now
  • https://www.instagram.com/dr.jefferis.write.now/?hl=en
  • Mat to Pen yoga + writing workshop on IG
• Pre-Order Lucky to Have You by Dr. Sarah Jefferis
  • https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/lucky-to-have-you-by-dr-sarah-jefferis/
• Poem “Eastern Seaboard” by Dr. Sarah Jefferis
  • https://www.passengersjournal.com/volume-4-issue-2-poetry
• Essay “Closed Mouth Don’t Get Fed” published in River’s Edge Journal
  • https://www.riversedgejournal.com/richtext-works/closed-mouths-don%E2%80%99t-get-fed
• Dr. Sarah's Tedx Talk - Writing As a Prescription for Healing
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3lkSvI5rUQ

Send questions to questions@coochiebusiness.com

Send stories to stories@coochiebusiness.com

Other inquiries: info@coochiebusiness.com

Dr. Abigail on Substack

Get on Dr. Abigail's calendar

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personal medical care.

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when a woman spends years swallowing her truth, suppressing her emotions, and carrying everyone else?

In this episode of Coochie Business® Podcast, Dr. Abigail sits down with Dee Manuel Cloud for a powerful, layered conversation about authenticity, trauma, stress, and the real cost of self-abandonment.

Dee shares how childhood wounds, people-pleasing, secrecy, and living out of alignment shaped her life and health. Together, she and Dr. Abigail explore the connection between suppressed emotion and disease, the role of chronic stress in Black women’s health, and what it means to stop abandoning yourself in the name of being “strong.”

This conversation moves through family history, breast cancer, intergenerational trauma, epigenetics, spirituality, communication, boundaries, and the healing power of telling the truth.

They also talk about:

• why stress is not just uncomfortable, but potentially deadly
• how authenticity can function like medicine
• why Black women must stop overperforming to their own detriment
• what it looks like to choose peace on purpose
• how pleasure, oxytocin, and self-expression may be part of the healing too

If you have ever felt unseen, unheard, overextended, or afraid to say what you really need, this episode is for you.

Resources mentioned in the episode

These are the cleanest ones to include.

Dee Manuel Cloud (www.deemanuelcloud.com)

• Complimentary POP (Peace on Purpose) Session booking link provided by Dee https://thriveonpurpose.as.me/POPSession
• Social handle: @iamdeemanuelcloud on Instagram, where she describes herself as a two-time breast cancer survivor and empowerment coach.

Books

• When the Body Says No by Dr. Gabor Maté — official book page describes it as an exploration of how disease can be the body’s way of saying no to what the mind cannot or will not acknowledge. https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/
• The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins — official page frames it as a guide to stop managing other people’s opinions, drama, and expectations so you can focus on your own life. https://www.melrobbins.com/book/the-let-them-theory/
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Center of the Clock teaching/video by Sean Smith https://youtu.be/XBS-S2RQuyQ?si=yzuCswDsPTWzpV6K

Send questions to questions@coochiebusiness.com

Send stories to stories@coochiebusiness.com

Other inquiries: info@coochiebusiness.com

Dr. Abigail on Substack

Get on Dr. Abigail's calendar

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personal medical care.