This Keeps Happening with Vienna Pharaon

Paige has a complicated dynamic with her mother. For years, she’s felt leaned upon and pressured to over give in the relationship. She also had to navigate a severe rupture of trust. When Paige was a child, her mom told her that the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father. 

Today, Paige wants to heal and set new boundaries with her mother. But now a mother herself, she worries that becoming more distant could mean her son w...

Wellness artist Tracy G shares her endless passion for healing and self-growth. She also reflects on moments that shaped how she shows up in relationships and how trust is an ongoing practice.

In a periodic series called ‘Named,’ Vienna speaks with friends and thought leaders about their origin wounds and their path towards healing.

You can order Vienna's National Best Seller 'The Origins of You' here and you can get a signed copy ...

Leah decided in her 20s to not have children. But today, she finds herself in a relationship with someone who has two of them. She never wanted kids but finds herself attempting to be the kind of parent she always wanted and needed. However, in her quest to be a perfect adult, she's losing her relationship with her own desires, wishes, and boundaries.

You can order Vienna's National Best Seller 'The Origins of You' here and you can...

Kaitlyn Bristowe stops by to talk about a lifelong journey. The host of “Off The Vine” and former Bachelorette shares how it feels being misunderstood online, journaling and self-acceptance.

In a periodic series called ‘Named,’ Vienna speaks with friends and thought leaders about their origin wounds and their path towards healing.

You can order Vienna's National Best Seller 'The Origins of You' here and you can get a signed copy her...

Jackie has a hard time allowing herself to be human, to be imperfect. She cheated in her current relationship. Though her partner has forgiven her, she has really struggled to forgive herself. 

She's stuck in a loop of self-blame and punishment and holds a story that since no one else has punished her, she must be the one who does. 

Growing up she felt like she had to be a good girl, which was exacerbated after her father was in a ...

Carol is in a relationship that feels deeper than anything she's experienced before, and yet she feels emotionally misunderstood. When there's conflict, she doesn't know how to navigate it and feels frustrated with herself for closing down and disconnecting. 

Growing up, Carol didn't have healthy examples of dealing with conflict. She felt distant from her mother, who struggled with addiction and wasn't present in her life from six ...

This week, Vienna speaks with her husband and founder of ManTalks Connor Beaton. This is the debut episode of a new periodic series called ‘Named,’ where Vienna speaks with friends and thought leaders about their origin wounds and their paths towards healing. In this episode, Connor shares how his parents’ separation affected him deeply. He struggled academically, romantically, and eventually made a profound transformation. He disc...

Beth is afraid of following in her mother's marriage footsteps. Her mother was married five times, and Beth finds herself contemplating a third divorce. At times, Beth is unclear about what she's actually trying to resolve. It's easy to get lost in the details and miss out on connecting with self, which in this case is quite appropriate for the goal that Beth doesn't even know she needs to set. But by the end of our conversation, s...

America recently went through a breakup, and it’s opening old wounds around the complicated relationship she had with her father. There's a lot she wishes she could have said to him before his death. She grew up in an environment where talking about your feelings wasn't safe, and that avoidance has come with her into her adult life. This breakup is confirming all of the original narratives she's held about perfection and herself. W...

Blu has a complicated relationship with her mom. Her parents got divorced when she was 12 years old, which is also around the time that sexual abuse started with her dad. Blu's mother never fully acknowledged what happened to her. She just made rash decisions on Blu's behalf and continued to stay distracted and preoccupied with work and a new love. Blu struggles with complicated family dynamics, wishing she could’ve had the mother ...

Anne is in a new relationship and it’s scary. All of the alarms are going off that want to keep her far away from closeness and intimacy. There’s fear of abandonment and it's hard for her to show emotion with this new partner. When she was younger, she was abandoned. After her parents' divorce, Anne started to use alcohol and drugs as a way to escape her sadness. She was kicked out of the home at 13 and told to go live with her fat...

Sophie gets lost in the details trying to understand why she is the way that she is, and worries about not being able to follow through on change when it presents in the future. She moves away from just connecting with the here and now, making space to feel and experience what's true for her. In the conversation, we find ourselves going around in circles a bit until she has a breakthrough. It's remarkable the shift that happens whe...

Caroline recently found out that her mom was cheating on her stepdad. Although she's able to celebrate what she calls her mom's newfound freedom, she also feels scared about becoming less important to her. Caroline doesn't make space for her emotional experience with anyone because the risk of upsetting them, disappointing them, or hurting them is too intolerable. We start the conversation talking about the situation with her mom a...

Beach is 41 years old and six months pregnant with her first child. She has a challenging relationship with her father, who was a big source of pain for her. She's feeling anxious about giving birth and becoming a parent. There's a moment in her life where her trust in herself gets deeply damaged, and we recognize in this conversation that it has yet to be restored.

You can order Vienna's National Best Seller 'The Origins of You' h...

Like many couples, Michelle and Dan struggle to communicate, especially when one of them is dealing with something difficult. Often when Michelle is upset, Dan feels completely lost on how he can help. Because he hasn't felt successful in all of his attempts, he winds up shutting down. He wants to fix, solve and solution, and it's just not what she needs. If you love someone, of course you want to help relieve them of their pain. B...