For more than two decades, Dr. Stacy Haynes has dedicated her life to helping children, families, and communities better understand mental health, wellness, and intentional parenting. As a licensed therapist, author, speaker, ministry leader, and podcast host, Haynes has turned her personal experiences and professional expertise into a mission focused on holistic healing, faith, and strengthening the next generation through her “Love Our Babies Well” movement. Through conferences, books, wellness initiatives, and virtual counseling services, she continues to encourage families and churches to become more proactive in supporting children emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and socially.
In an exclusive interview with the nation’s premier faith-based and professional newspaper for winners, Anointed News Journal, Dr. Stacy Haynes shares her passion for helping families embrace wellness, intentional parenting, and community support to guide the next generation toward healing and purpose.
Collins II:
Who is Dr. Stacy Haynes?
Dr. Haynes:
Dr. Stacy Haynes is a mental health therapist of over 22 years. She’s a mom of two, a children’s pastor, a speaker, an author, and a podcast host.
Collins II:
Wow. Could you talk more about your life leading up to making the decision to get into this field? Kind of like the backstory.
Dr. Haynes:
Yes, it’s interesting. I watched my brother growing up struggle with mental health and behavioral differences that got him suspended. He was having a hard time in middle school and high school academically and really struggled. He didn’t find out until he was an adult that he had a treatable mental health condition.
It was around that time that I decided in my college program that I really wanted to work with children and families and help prevent that. In communities of color specifically, we don’t talk about mental health. We don’t talk about diagnoses, and we don’t want our kids labeled. My parents were really in that space of not knowing how to help him.
Recognizing, even through my early psychology classes, that there are diagnoses and there is help, I also realized that from a cultural perspective, while the research may be based on others, there is still information about how these diagnoses show up for us. So, then I decided to work on my master’s degree and then a doctorate. That was my journey into mental health — really trying to help families not live through that hard journey of raising children with differences without understanding what’s happening.
Collins II:
You recently hosted an event “Love Our Babies Well” conference. Could you explain what that was and the impact?
Dr. Haynes:
Yes! We’re doing another one in September. The “Love Our Babies Well” is really stemming from the book that I authored, and it’s about evidence-based treatment and how we can raise children well. Specifically, I looked at research for children of color. The idea is that there are areas of wellness that can also help with parenting.
For example, parents learning about physical wellness — like whether their child is eating well and sleeping well, and how that impacts their mental and emotional wellness. So, the “Love Our Babies Well” conference, and what we’ll be doing again in September, focuses on the eight dimensions of wellness in families and how we raise our children, but also in couples and relationships.
We want to help parents and individuals in areas like financial wellness, social wellness, and other dimensions of wellness. Again, from a scriptural perspective, whenever Jesus healed someone, He said, “I want you to be made well.” We really want wellness to be how we help people within the church.
That may look like having an exercise or yoga group at church, financial planning workshops, or respite care so families can have a break. We want our communities to come together with a focus on wellness and helping families.
Collins II:
And the title “Love Our Babies Well” wasn’t just a conference; you turned it into a brand-new book.
Dr. Haynes:
Yes. My brand-new book, Love Our Babies Well, is a workbook that walks parents through the stages of development. It’s not just about babies. It goes all the way from infancy to young adulthood, including when our children begin having families of their own.
It also helps parents understand strategies and tips they can use at each stage of development to help their children be well. For example, I talk about environmental wellness during the college-age years and how we teach our children to pick and select colleges. Financial wellness can start when they’re little by playing games like Life and Monopoly, where they have to pay for things, or by giving them allowances and letting them pay for purchases.
I also do a lot of teaching with college students about how to order a pizza with a real person because they’re so used to apps and technology that they don’t talk to people anymore.
A big part of the book is equipping parents to understand wellness from a holistic perspective. Mental and emotional health are just one area of wellness. The focus is really on the whole person and helping children and families become well holistically.
Collins II:
What would be one major piece of parenting advice that you’d offer to any parent?
Dr. Haynes:
I tell parents to be significant. Parenting is not about perfection; it’s about significance and our ability through faith, love, and wellness, to show up for our children each and every day. We’re not going to be perfect. I always tease that Mary lost Jesus, right? Yet she was still chosen. The angel Gabriel called her the favored one.
So, we can still be the favored parent of our children even though we’re going to make mistakes and we’re not always going to get it right. Our goal is really to be significant, show up, and be intentional about how we love our kids each and every day.
Collins II:
So what’s next for Dr. Stacy Haynes?
Dr. Haynes:
What’s next is definitely the conference in September. We are going to be in Glen Burnie, Maryland, at Fresh Start Church. I’m also working on another book that will hopefully come out before then.
I will be speaking at Reclaiming Wellness in Washington in July, where Dr. Thelma Bryant will be the keynote speaker. I’ll also be in Dallas next week doing a “Love Our Babies Well” workshop for the World Conference for Wellness Counseling.
Collins II:
Wow.
Dr. Haynes:
I’m trying to spread the “Love Our Babies Well” message.
Collins II:
And you’re also a brand-new co-author in Legacy in Ink with 180 other authors, so you’ll be in Philadelphia on May 30th for a Guinness World Record attempt as well!
Dr. Haynes:
Yes, which is really exciting! I’ve never done anything like this before, so I think I’m even more excited.
Collins II:
Yeah, I’m excited as well. I’ll be there too. Anointed News Journal is one of the sponsors of that event…As you already mentioned, it sounds like you’re available for speaking engagements and events?
Dr. Haynes:
Yes, absolutely. That’s really my heart — women’s conferences especially. On June 12, we have our Signature Women event with Pastor Bonnie Eastlack here in Greensboro, North Carolina. We love creating opportunities for women to gather together and focus on wellness.
My passion is to write, speak, and help churches develop programs that focus on the wellness of their children. We have many children with diverse needs when we talk about mental health and behavioral concerns. Even on Sunday mornings, many Sunday school programs are struggling to support children and families effectively.
That’s where my heart is — trauma-informed care in churches, helping churches implement wellness programming, and speaking engagements that support women’s ministries and church ministries.
Collins II:
Also, your podcast — what is the name of your podcast, how often does it air, and what is it about?
Dr. Haynes:
The Dr. Stacy Show is about parenting through faith, love, and wellness. We feature guests such as teachers, entrepreneurs, speech pathologists, and others who provide advice and strategies for parents. I always say it takes a community to help raise our kids.
Each episode airs every Tuesday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Every week, we release a new episode that helps parents with tips and strategies related to wellness and raising children. It’s not just me speaking — I bring on amazing people to share their expertise, which is really helpful.
Collins II:
So how can people get ahold of you?
Dr. Haynes:
People can reach me at www.DrStacyHaynesLPC.com. If they’re looking for parent coaching or therapy services, they can also register through the website.
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The office number is 856-228-1005 for anyone looking for services or wanting to connect. On Instagram, they can find me at Dr. Stacy Haynes LPC, as well as The Dr. Stacy Show on Instagram.
A big part of what I do now is virtual care. I’m licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, so people can still reach me for virtual mental health services in those states.
Parent coaching is different because it’s not considered mental health treatment under my license, so I can provide parent coaching services to anyone regardless of location.
Collins II:
What words of encouragement would you give to a young person? I know you have two children in college right now, so for people who are college age and entering further into their twenties, what advice would you give to someone trying to find themselves and figure out their career path in life?
Dr. Haynes:
Everybody’s journey is different, and yours doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s. I think sometimes we get so stuck on social media, images, and even what our parents tell us we’re supposed to do and how life is supposed to look.
I was just talking to an entrepreneur who is starting businesses at 38 years old, and I also spoke to a 70-year-old who just reached a major milestone. Things that some people may do in their twenties, others may accomplish in their seventies. Our journey does not have to follow a cookie-cutter path.
I think we should embrace who we are, have confidence in how we are built and designed, and focus on finding our strengths. Many of us spend too much time focusing on our weaknesses instead of our strengths. Most importantly, enjoy the journey. It’s definitely meant to be enjoyed.
Collins II:
In a final word, what would you like to say to the readers of the Anointed News Journal?
Dr. Haynes:
First of all, keep reading the Anointed News Journal. I love it. I think it is all of our responsibility to pour into this next generation. We talk about them all the time — the younger generation coming up, and we often complain or criticize, but it is really our responsibility to mentor them.
We are supposed to be the older women and men in the church who teach and guide them. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us that we are supposed to give instruction and direction to our children when they wake up, when they are in the streets, when they are in the stores, and when they are at home. It truly is our responsibility to help guide this next generation.
Conclusion:
Dr. Stacy Haynes continues to use her platform as a therapist, author, speaker, and ministry leader to help families embrace wellness through faith, love, and intentional parenting. Through her Love Our Babies Well movement, conferences, podcast, and virtual services, she is encouraging parents and churches alike to take a more holistic approach to raising and supporting the next generation. In an exclusive interview with the nation’s premier faith-based and professional newspaper for winners, Anointed News Journal, Dr. Haynes shares her passion for guiding families toward healing, purpose, and lifelong wellness.
You can purchase her book, “Love Our Babies Well”, on Amazon.
By Christopher Collins II
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