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 with uncovering how secrecy and shame shaped her childhood.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:32:39
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1:32:39
20. Should I Tell My Children About Their Abusive Grandparents?
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 of her past with her two young adult children.Jada speaks candidly about her children’s very different experiences of their grandmother, the shame she feels for raising them under her roof, and the confusion that comes with suddenly having the freedom to speak when her voice was suppressed for so long.Content warning: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse and discussions of suicide and cancer.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:33:24
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1:33:24
19. How Does Guilt Protect Me? Part 2 of 2
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 with her since childhood, shaped by years of control, secrecy, and the belief that serving others was the only safe choice. Together, they explore how guilt became her most familiar emotion, how it has been used to control her, and how it continues to shape her decisions.By the end, Sinead begins to imagine a different way forward, one where her voice can be used for her own needs and where guilt might guide rather than silence her. It is a conversation about understanding the body’s warnings, loosening shame’s grip, and making space for self trust.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:27:46
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1:27:46
18. Why Does Silence Hurt More? Part 1 of 2
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 rules, weaponised guilt, and used comparisons to keep her in line, while her grandfather remained passive in the face of it all.As Sinead reflects on the silence that followed her decision to step away, she speaks honestly about the identity crisis that surfaced in its wake. Without guilt as a guiding force, she feels untethered, unsure of who she is or what she’s allowed to feel. Together, she and Helen explore the legacy of emotional neglect, survival-based behaviours, and the fear of becoming like the very people she had to leave behind. This is a deeply validating conversation about letting go of inherited shame, rebuilding self-trust, and beginning to choose who you want to be.Content warning: This episode discusses abortion and emotional abuse.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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1:26:04
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1:26:04
17. Why Were They Willing to Sacrifice Me?
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 pressure.When Lola finally made the decision to walk away, she was met with humiliation, rejection, and a devastating lack of support. She describes the isolation that followed, including being gaslit, coerced into couples therapy, and eventually made homeless. Yet through it all, she held on to a quiet determination to survive and rebuild. Now living abroad with her independence reclaimed, Lola reflects on the emotional toll of reactive abuse, self-blame, and the fear of connection after betrayal.This is a powerful conversation about scapegoating, identity loss, and the slow work of self-trust. With clarity and courage, Lola shares what it means to heal on your own terms and find safety after being told you do not deserve it.Content warning: This episodes contains discussions of coercive control and emotional abuse.Grow, connect and thrive with a free 7-day trial of The Hub: https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/To be on the show please apply here: https://hub.liberationacademy.co.uk/podcast-application
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, learning and support, visit https://liberationacademy.co.uk/the-hub/
Ireland