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PODCAST

The Liberation Effect

Helen Villiers MA

Each week Helen invites a guest to explore a problem they’re facing and works through it with them; peeling back the layers to understand what’s happening and offering ways to move forward and make changes to resolve the issue. Whether it’s coping with narcissistic parents; going no contact; parenting ADHD or Autistic children; parenting after trauma; or their own ADHD or Autism; Helen helps the listener untangle the parts that keeps them stuck. To access Helen’s community focused on healing,

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All Episodes

01:14:56

15. Was I Too Sensitive?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/07/16

What if the hardest part wasn’t what happened, but what it meant about who you were?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Louise speaks with Helen about the long-term impact of childhood emotional abuse. She shares how years of being controlled, shamed, and repeatedly told she was “too sensitive” left her doubting her instincts and shrinking herself to survive. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about the cost of being silenced, the confusion of loving people who hurt you, and the quiet

en

01:32:17

14. Am I Being Unreasonable?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/07/09

What if love meant always being available, even when it cost you your future?In this episode, Christine speaks with Helen about growing up with a mother who expected complete emotional and practical availability. She shares how her life was shaped around her mother’s needs, including being asked not to get a job, not to go to university, even to plan her days around minding the dog. Christine reflects on how these constant, unreasonable demands blurred the line between love and control.Together,

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01:13:27

13. Why Did They Choose My Abuser Over Me?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/07/02

What if the person who hurt you most was the one everyone protected?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Emily speaks with Helen about the long shadow of sibling abuse, and the emotional cost of growing up in a family that denied her reality. She shares how her mother’s repeated refusal to acknowledge what happened left her isolated, gaslit, and cast as the source of the problem.Together, they explore the deep confusion of being harmed and then blamed for it, the long road to rebuilding

en

01:09:25

12. Did I Do The Right Thing?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/06/25

What if protecting yourself came at the cost of everything familiar?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Elizabeth shares the story of a life reshaped by bold decisions. After walking away from toxic workplaces, family estrangement, and an abusive relationship abroad, she found herself free, but deeply alone. She and Helen explore what it means to honour the choices made for survival while grieving what was lost along the way.Together, they unpack the tension between strength and sadness,

en

01:08:20

11. Why Does My Daughter Trigger Me?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/06/18

What if the way you parent reveals the parts of you that are still hurting?In this episode, Lucy explores the uncomfortable truth that she finds her daughter more triggering than her son, even when they display the same behaviours. What unfolds is a powerful, emotionally honest conversation about the legacy of childhood rejection, and how easily unhealed wounds can echo through the next generation.Helen helps Lucy trace the roots of her inner critic, the shame she carries around being “too much,”

en

01:23:17

10. How Do I Know Who I Am Without Her?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/06/11

What if being the good child meant being the forgotten one?In this episode, Charlotte joins Helen to explore the long shadow of emotional neglect, people-pleasing, and being cast as the family scapegoat. As a child, Charlotte learned to stay quiet, meet expectations, and avoid conflict. But underneath the surface was a deep loneliness, a constant pressure to be easy, and a silence that cost her a sense of self.Together, they unpack how roles like “good girl” or “too much” get assigned to children

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01:24:51

9. Did My Autism Make Me Hard to Love?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/06/04

What if everything that made you different was dismissed, not just by the world, but by the people meant to protect you?Christina joins Helen to share the quiet heartbreak of being visibly different but never truly seen. Despite clear signs of neurodivergence from a young age, her parents dismissed the red flags, choosing image, denial and normality over acceptance and support. Now, with a late autism, ADHD and dyscalculia diagnosis, Christina is left untangling years of confusion, anger, and

en

01:36:01

8. How Can My Own Mother Abandon Me?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/05/28

What if everything you thought was real… wasn’t?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Helen is joined by Emma, who’s facing the grief of being discarded by her narcissistic mother - not because she walked away, but because she finally said no.Now in her fifties and newly separated, Emma is navigating the disorienting fallout of a lifetime spent performing for love, questioning every memory, and grieving the identity she was never allowed to form. Together, she and Helen unpack what happens when

en

01:44:38

7. What Can I Do to Make Her Love Me?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/05/21

What if understanding it won’t make it hurt less?In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Helen is joined by Megan, who’s gone no contact with her parents but is still being pulled back in through guilt, shame, and flying monkey messages. Now pregnant again, Megan finds herself circling old patterns of self-doubt and wondering if she really was the problem all along.What unfolds is a conversation about grief, survival, and the desperate need to make sense of the senseless. Together, Helen and Megan

en

01:15:02

6. Why Am I Scared to Say No?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/05/14

What happens when the fear of rejection runs so deep it controls your every decision? In this episode of The Liberation Effect, Helen sits down with Laura, who is climbing the corporate ladder while quietly battling burnout. Behind her inability to say no lies a lifetime of people-pleasing, a deeply enmeshed family system, and a childhood marked by secrecy and survival.Together, Helen and Laura trace the emotional roots of this fear - from Laura’s experience growing up with a mother who demanded

en

01:16:07

5. Was He Safe or Is It Toxic Hope?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/05/07

What happens when the ‘safe parent’ lets you down?In this episode, Lucy joins host Helen to explore the painful realisation that the parent she once saw as kind, gentle and safe – may never have been that at all.After going no contact with her emotionally abusive stepmother, Lucy began speaking to her dad about what she’d lived through. But what followed was denial, gaslighting and invalidation – not just from her stepmother, but from the man she thought would be in her corner.Together, Helen and

en

01:38:00

4. Is It Meant To Be Like This?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/30

In this episode, Helen is joined by Kate, who shares her story of going no contact with her mother and navigating the complex aftermath. What starts as a conversation about finding peace after estrangement becomes a profound exploration of trauma, covert abuse, family conditioning, and the grief that often follows disconnection.Together, Helen and Kate discuss the deep roots of people-pleasing, how it links to childhood experiences, the long-term effects of narcissistic parenting, and the role shame

en

01:11:04

3. Should I Call My Mother?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/23

In this episode, Helen talks with Amanda as she wrestles with the idea of reconnecting with her mother - someone who caused her deep pain. Diagnosed with autism later in life, Amanda shares how being neurodivergent shaped her understanding of the relationship, her patterns of trust, and the grief of toxic hope: the belief that maybe, one day, her mum might change.Together they explore what it means to let go of the version of a parent you needed, how autism complicates that process, and what healing

en

01:22:53

2. Is It Autism or Trauma?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/16

When we’ve grown up in chaos, it can be hard to untangle our trauma from who we truly are. In this episode, Patrick explores the tangled web of trust, identity, and survival after a lifetime shaped by narcissistic abuse - and a recent autism diagnosis that’s reframed everything.As he sits down with Helen, we witness a moving conversation about how trauma disguises itself in our thoughts, how autism and trauma intertwine, and how addiction can become a clever - if costly - coping mechanism. Together,

en

01:18:53

1. Is My Child a Narcissist?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/09

When a child’s behaviour pushes all our buttons, it can be hard to separate the present from the past. In this powerful episode, a mother explores her deep discomfort around her son’s intense emotional responses and defiance—asking herself if he might be a narcissist, like her own father was. But as she sits down with Helen, a different picture begins to emerge. How do unresolved wounds from narcissistic abuse shape the way we interpret our children’s behaviour? What part is ADHD or Autism playing

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00:01:09

The Expert Series Trailer

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/07

The Expert Series is a conversation between a professional and me discussing their specialism in relationship to the course on The Hub. Listen as we explore people pleasing and sex, trauma and shame, or identity and neurodiversity. This content is free for Hub members, or available for a small monthly subscription. Thanks and take care! HelenSupport the show

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00:01:18

Introducing The Liberation Effect

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/04/05

If you're looking for stories from people just like you, and suggestions on how to find a way through similar problems, welcome to The Liberation Effect. Join me as we pull apart struggles and problems and see what's going on and how to move forward. https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/Support the show

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