Today Jan is joined by David Polidi, a dedicated trauma therapist and social worker who blends compassion with clinical expertise. Through his practice Empowered Through Compassion, David guides adults and couples using Internal Family Systems (IFS) and EMDR therapy—two powerful approaches for trauma recovery. A passionate advocate for self-healing, he’s also co-authoring *IFS-Informed EMDR* (2025/26), a collaborative book featuring insights from 20+ therapy experts.

Jan and Dave's conversation explores how trauma reshapes identity, beginning with David’s own family story about names and generational legacy. They discuss his transition from school counseling (where systemic barriers limited trauma work) to private practice, where he now helps clients reprocess pain through EMDR and IFS. David breaks down these modalities: how EMDR rewires traumatic memories, and how IFS teaches us to listen to our inner ‘parts’ without judgment.

They also tackle harder truths—how schools fail traumatized kids, why the justice system retraumatizes survivors, and how healing requires both individual work and community support. Throughout, David emphasizes hope: that self-energy (marked by qualities like courage and compassion) can help survivors reclaim wholeness.

Where To Find David:
EmpoweredThroughCompassion.com
Empowered Through Compassion Podcast
Insta: @Empowered.through.compassion

Mentioned Resources:
No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz

If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or suicidal ideation, please access the resources below:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/Text 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) : 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Alliance for Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

Subscribe / Support / Contact:
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Jan Broberg Foundation:
💝 Foundation Website
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💞 Thrivivors

[Content Warning]: Religious cult, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, abortion, self-harm

Today, Jan is again joined by Jennifer Redcay to finish her story of cult abuse and escape. Said abuse turned sexual when the cult leader claimed Jennifer’s "fantasies about him" required "acting out" to purge demons. For nearly two years, he coerced her into increasingly degrading acts—always framed as "spiritual cleansing." When she became pregnant, he froze her out for three days, then ordered her to get an abortion. His wife took her across state lines to a clinic, where Jennifer endured the procedure alone. That trauma became a turning point. "How could God want this?" she asked herself. Small rebellions followed: a customer’s prayer about God’s love ("Greater is He that is in you") clashed with the cult’s teachings. Finding a book on deliverance ministries, thinking it would help reaffirm her belief in the cult, turned out to be literature denouncing the practice and exposed the leader’s identical tactics. After a couple of failed attempts and a discussion with fellow christians at her waitressing job, she finally fled. Now 17 years free, Jennifer shares how forgiveness (of herself and her abusers) and motherhood—adopting five children from trauma—rebuilt her life. "Healing is like an onion," she says. "You peel layers over years."

Buy Jennifer’s Book:
Pushing Back The Darkness by Becca Anderson and Jennifer Redcay

Where To Find Jennifer:
JenniferRedcay.com
Tiktok: @jenniferredcayauthor

If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or suicidal ideation, please access the resources below:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/Text 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) : 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Alliance for Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

Subscribe / Support / Contact:
🍎 Review on Apple
🎶 Review on Spotify
✍ Share Your Story
🌐 Podcast Website
🔴 YouTube
📷 Instagram

Jan Broberg Foundation:
💝 Foundation Website
📒 The Jan Broberg Story
🗞 Sign Up For Our Newsletter
💞 Thrivivors

[Content Warning]: Religious cult, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse

Today, Jan is joined by Jennifer Redcay, who spent 10 years of her late 20s and early 30s in a cult that nearly extinguished her soul, spirit, and life. Jennifer opens with her childhood—abandoned by her father and raised by a mother whose remarriage to a bipolar man left her longing for love. That void made her vulnerable when a charismatic couple running a "deliverance ministry" lured her in, promising spiritual fulfillment. What began as Bible study spiraled into total control: she sold her home, cut off family, and handed over $400,000 to her abusers. The cult leader, just nine years her senior, declared himself her "father" and rewrote her identity—forcing her to call his wife "Mother" and her own mom by her first name. Jennifer describes the escalating abuse: sleep deprivation, food restrictions, and brutal beatings for disobedience. She recounts horrifying rituals like watching movies (even porn) to "expose her sins," followed by hours of "exorcisms" for fabricated demons. All of this and more were overshadowed by the cult’s isolation tactics. Though Jennifer and her mom lived together, they were forbidden from speaking unless supervised, which was supported by the cult leader somehow knowing when they had broken that rule. "He didn’t want us comparing stories," she says. By the time physical violence became routine, Jennifer was trapped—convinced leaving would condemn her to hell. The abuse turned sexual when the cult leader claimed Jennifer’s "fantasies about him" required "acting out" to purge demons. For nearly two years, he coerced her into increasingly degrading acts—always framed as "spiritual cleansing."

Buy Jennifer’s Book:
Pushing Back The Darkness by Becca Anderson and Jennifer Redcay

Where To Find Jennifer:
JenniferRedcay.com
Tiktok: @jenniferredcayauthor

If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or suicidal ideation, please access the resources below:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/Text 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) : 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Alliance for Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

Subscribe / Support / Contact:
🍎 Review on Apple
🎶 Review on Spotify
✍ Share Your Story
🌐 Podcast Website
🔴 YouTube
📷 Instagram

Jan Broberg Foundation:
💝 Foundation Website
📒 The Jan Broberg Story
🗞 Sign Up For Our Newsletter
💞 Thrivivors