x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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,

health & fitness mental health

All Episodes

92:39

21. Was My Mother Good or Bad?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/09/09

Apply to be a guest on the show.In this episode, Helen speaks with Elizabeth, who has gone no contact with her father and is now questioning the role her late mother played in enabling his behaviour. Once seen as her safe person, her mother’s minimising responses and final letters revealed a truth Elizabeth has struggled to face.Together they explore the grief of realising lost protection, the weight of guilt and responsibility, and the anger that comes with uncovering how secrecy and shame shaped

en

93:24

20. Should I Tell My Children About Their Abusive...

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/09/09

In this episode, Helen is joined by Jada, who opens up about the death of her abusive mother and the painful legacy it has left behind. Jada reflects on how her mother not only failed to protect her from her father’s abuse but also manipulated and controlled her well into adulthood. Now, six months after her mother’s death, she is faced with complex emotions of anger, grief, shame, and the question of whether to share the truth of her past with her two young adult children.Jada speaks candidly about

en

21:25

Is the Fawn Response real?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/29

The Fawn Response has been declared a primary trauma response, but is it really? Understanding this distinction between primary and secondary response is vital because it empowers you to be able to manage it. You don’t have to fawn! And if you’re feeling the need to, either your relational pattern is playing out, or the person you’re with isn’t safe. Never shame yourself for surviving, it’s amazing you got here. Take care, Helen This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other

en

01:32:39

21. Was My Mother Good or Bad?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/27

What if the parent you trusted to protect you was really protecting themselves?In this episode, Helen speaks with Elizabeth, who has gone no contact with her father and is now questioning the role her late mother played in enabling his behaviour. Once seen as her safe person, her mother’s minimising responses and final letters revealed a truth Elizabeth has struggled to face.Together they explore the grief of realising lost protection, the weight of guilt and responsibility, and the anger that comes

en

01:33:24

20. Should I Tell My Children About Their Abusive...

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/20

What if the same person could be remembered in completely different ways?In this episode, Helen is joined by Jada, who opens up about the death of her abusive mother and the painful legacy it has left behind. Jada reflects on how her mother not only failed to protect her from her father’s abuse but also manipulated and controlled her well into adulthood. Now, six months after her mother’s death, she is faced with complex emotions of anger, grief, shame, and the question of whether to share the truth

en

3:00

Boundaries and Trauma with Juliet Grayson

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/13

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit helenvilliersliberation.substack.comIn this episode, Helen is joined by psychosexual therapist and author Juliet Grayson for a rich and illuminating conversation about trauma, boundaries, and the power of body-based therapy.

en

01:27:46

19. How Does Guilt Protect Me? Part 2 of 2

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/13

What if shame has been speaking louder than your voice?In this follow up to last week’s conversation, Sinead returns to talk with Helen about the deeper roots of her anxiety, guilt, and fear of speaking up. Through guided imagery, Sinead explores the physical sensations tied to her voice: a hot, jagged feeling in her chest and a tight grip in her stomach. Both have long worked to keep her safe from the consequences of speaking out.Helen helps Sinead meet “Mr Guilt”, the shadowy figure who has been

en

01:26:04

18. Why Does Silence Hurt More? Part 1 of 2

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/06

What if the silence after going no contact was louder than any fight you imagined?In this first part of a two-part episode episode, Sinead joins Helen to share the emotional aftermath of going no contact with her grandmother and the family system that enabled harm. Raised primarily by her grandparents, Sinead unpacks a childhood shaped by coercion, manipulation, and control. What she was told was her choice now reveals itself as something else entirely. Her grandmother enforced strict emotional

en

2:00

Gaslighting - The Expert Series

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/08/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit helenvilliersliberation.substack.com

en

01:36:18

17. Why Were They Willing to Sacrifice Me?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/07/30

What if the moment you chose yourself was the moment they turned against you?In this episode, Lola joins Helen to share her story of surviving an emotionally abusive marriage and the painful fallout that followed. Raised in a household where love came with conditions and silence was expected, Lola entered her first long-term relationship as a teenager. What followed was years of emotional entrapment, manipulation, and failed attempts to leave, all under the weight of cultural and family

en

01:34:59

16. Does My Trauma Make Me A Bad Parent?

The Liberation Effect ·

2025/07/23

What if feeling your emotions meant risking everything that keeps you safe?In this episode, Stephen joins Helen to explore the collapse of his coping systems after becoming a father. As a neurodivergent parent living with autism and ADHD, Stephen reflects on how the unpredictability of raising a toddler has triggered early patterns of fear, control, and emotional self-protection. He speaks openly about growing up in an environment where feelings were unsafe, religion was weaponised, and perfection

en

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,

en

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

en

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

48 results

Similar Podcasts

Доктор Тройняшкин

Доктор Тройняшкин

The Dry Eye Treatment PODCAST

Dry Eye Treatment

Différent et alors ?

PATRICK SULAY

Kyle Kingsbury Podcast

Kyle Kingsbury

The Real Weight Loss Coach

Matty Lansdown