An Inspired Chat with Yovanna Madhere LMSW of Atlanta

We recently had the chance to connect with Yovanna Madhere LMSW and have shared our conversation below.

Yovanna, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What battle are you avoiding?
Such an insightful question! The battle I’ve been avoiding is the habit of shrinking. For much of my life, I learned to make myself smaller—quieter—to protect others from feeling uncomfortable with my power, my voice, or my success. It became second nature to edit myself in rooms that couldn’t hold my fullness. But the truth is, shrinking doesn’t serve anyone. Every time I downplay my brilliance, I deny someone else permission to step into theirs. The real battle now is unlearning that reflex—allowing myself to take up space unapologetically, to speak without softening, to lead without asking permission. Because playing small doesn’t keep the peace; it only keeps us invisible.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Yovanna Madhère, a licensed therapist, reinvention strategist, and founder of YovannaRocks Personal Development Services and the Health. Love. Soul.℠ brand. My work sits at the intersection of healing and human potential. I help women—and the organizations that employ them—reconnect to their wholeness, rediscover confidence, and create lives that feel aligned from the inside out.

What makes my work unique is that it’s equal parts science and soul. I draw from evidence-based therapeutic practices like cognitive-behavioral therapy and compassion-focused therapy, but I pair that with deep coaching, storytelling, and emotional intelligence work. It’s not just about “getting better.” It’s about rising higher—with gentleness, clarity, and intention.

Health. Love. Soul.℠ was born from my own healing journey—one that taught me success means very little without peace. Today, I get to guide others in finding both. Currently, I’m particularly excited about expanding my visibility programs for women leaders and introducing new wellness experiences that combine confidence, emotional wellness, and feminine power.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What breaks the bonds between people, in my experience, is silence…the kind that grows when honesty feels too risky. It’s not always betrayal or anger that causes the fracture; sometimes it’s avoidance, the quiet pretending that everything is fine when it isn’t. We start performing instead of connecting, shrinking instead of sharing. And little by little, we lose touch with the very people we love, including ourselves.

What restores those bonds is presence—authentic, grounded, heart-led presence. Not the kind that rushes to fix or smooth things over, but the kind that says: “I’m here, and I’m willing to see you as you are.” Real healing begins there.

Through my work in therapy and coaching, I’ve learned that relationships, whether with others or with ourselves, heal when we move through three essentials: Health, Love, and Soul℠. Health is the courage to face what hurts. Love is the grace we extend to ourselves and others in that process. And Soul is the truth that reconnects us to purpose, belonging, and peace. When we honor all three, we don’t just restore bonds—we create something even stronger, something rooted in truth instead of fear.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
My suffering came before any of the success did, and I’m grateful for that.

Suffering taught me how to learn who I am. Success can sometimes create noise—applause, validation, expectations. But suffering brings you face-to-face with your truth. It strips away titles, roles, and achievements until all that’s left is the important part- your essence.

In my hardest seasons, I learned that my strength isn’t found in how well I held it together. It’s in how gently you allow yourself to fall apart. Suffering taught me presence, compassion, and surrender. It showed me that healing isn’t linear, and that softness is not weakness; it’s power under divine direction.

Suffering gave me meaning; Success gave me momentum. Health. Love. Soul℠ grew out of that realization- to help others transform their pain into purpose, and to remind us all that even in the breaking, there’s beauty waiting to be revealed.

Pain taught me how to turn breaking points into breakthroughs, and how to help others do the same.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to helping women return to themselves. That’s the heartbeat of everything I do. Whether it’s through therapy, coaching, or speaking, my mission is to guide women back to the truth that they are not broken—they’re becoming.

Too many of us have learned to measure our worth by productivity, perfection, or proximity to someone else’s definition of success. My lifelong work is to change that narrative and to make emotional wellness, confidence, and self-trust the new standards of success.

That’s why I created Health. Love. Soul.℠ which is not just a brand- it’s a movement. It’s about helping women heal from survival mode, embody joy, and lead from a place of wholeness. I’m committed to that work for as long as it takes, because when women heal, families and communities heal too.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I helped them remember their light. That I made healing feel human and growth feel possible. I want my story to be one of softness and strength, proof that you can walk through fire and still lead with love.

If people say I left them feeling seen, affirmed, and inspired to rise—then I’ve done my work. I hope they speak of me as a woman who lived with intention, who turned pain into purpose, and who never stopped believing in the power of transformation.

My legacy is simple—Health. Love. Soul.℠—a reminder that when we lead with wholeness and love, we don’t just change our lives, we change the world.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Sandra Madhere

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