Desi Dramas

About Desi Dramas

Ever wish your therapist just got what it means to be a Desi? Step inside the mind of Dr. Heena Manglani-Terranova, a Desi clinical psychologist unpacking the familiar stories keeping us stuck. Each week, she transforms evidence-based tools using a cultural lens — bicultural identity, family conflict, marriage tension, and everything in between. Practical tools so you can feel empowered. This is not therapy, but we trust it will be therapeutic.

Publisher

Dr. Heena Manglani-Terranova

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 May 2026

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   What Are You Fighting For? The 4 Needs Behind Every Couple Fight

   During conflicts, it's not what you're fighting about. It's not what you're fighting against. It's what you're fighting for. There are 4 categories of needs that most couples are fighting for. Dr. Corky Becker just co-authored a paper on it and presents them here. To read the full paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13473024/ I'm Dr. Heena Manglani-Terranova, a Desi clinical psychologist in California. This week I sit down with Dr. Corky Becker, a couples therapist who has worked with couples since the 1970s and whose Family Process paper with John Sargent lays out the four things we fight for: connection, identity, agency, and values. In this episode, you'll learn what each one means, how to spot the lead horse in your own fight, and how to turn a complaint into a request. Then I hand Corky three composite couples, made up from patterns I've seen with Desi partners, and she works out what each one is fighting for. 00:00 Teaser — "I want to be a good Indian son, but I want to be a good American husband" 01:17 Meet Corky Becker: "what are you fighting for?" 04:54 The Esther Perel moment behind the question 07:13 How to stop reacting in a fight — advocate for yourself like you would for a friend 12:12 The four needs in relationships: connection, identity, agency, values 16:06 Competing values in South Asian couples — home-country legacy vs. American life 17:26 How the categories are an antidote to the four horsemen 19:42 Three composite couples: what is each one fighting for? 21:05 Case 1, in-law conflict couple 27:34 From complaint to request: a three-step map for any couple fight 32:11 Case 2, money and trust couple 44:33 Case 3, high reactivity couple 49:14 "Nobody gets unconditional love" 52:13 How to calm down mid-fight 57:55 Questions to find what you're fighting for 61:07 In-laws and the triangle and how to keep the focus between you two 63:23 When your values really clash: deal breakers vs. differences you can live with Each couple also has its own video: Case 1, the in-law conflict: https://youtu.be/bnqIzXA8jkQ Case 2, money and trust: https://youtu.be/wNvy_Tg9WhY Case 3, high reactivity: https://youtu.be/9mJk_5ZjJ6Y And if you want to share a drama you are in, message Dr. Heena at desi-dramas.com. She might unpack your tension in an upcoming episode. To find the podcast, resources, and contact Dr. Heena: Contact: https://desi-dramas.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Desi-Dramas Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033j40tjJOYSJREHnoGBGS Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/desi-dramas/id1896851794 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desidramaspodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desidramas Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/heena-manglani-terranova-san-diego-ca/1213462 #DesiDramas #DesiMentalHealth #SouthAsianMentalHealth #DesiTherapist #ImmigrantMentalHealth #couplestherapy #desimarriage #relationshipadvice #communicationskills #southasian

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   5 Insights An Immigrant Desi Mom May Not Realize About Herself

   You might feel like the villain in your own family. You're not. But there's something underneath every fight with your kids that you've probably never had language for...until now. I'm Dr. Heena Manglani-Terranova, a Desi clinical psychologist. Last week I gave you the exact words to ask your grown child for time, respect, and empathy. This week isn't about the what — it's about the why. Five things Desi aunties have uncovered in therapy about themselves, and the one gentle need hiding underneath each one. 0:00 Teaser — you're not the villain, but it might feel like it 2:06 Who I am — a Desi clinical psychologist 3:11 Insight one: your reaction is older than the fight you're having 5:01 "It's kind of like debt" — what one generation doesn't resolve 5:44 The need underneath: to matter 6:16 Insight two: you're parenting without the village you expected 8:15 Insight three: the invisible labor is the worry, not the tasks 8:22 Deepa aunty and her daughter Sona's wedding guest list 9:01 "Log kya kahenge?" — the worry underneath the worry 10:57 Insight four: you're teaching your daughter what womanhood costs 11:15 The three things a daughter does with what she's learned 14:02 Insight five: every complaint you have is a need in disguise 14:34 The mundan story — what my mom was really fighting for 15:57 Say the need before the request 17:18 Takeaways — five insights, five needs And if you're stuck in your own drama, send it to me at desi-dramas.com. I might unpack it anonymously in a future episode. To find the podcast, resources, and contact Dr. Heena: Contact: https://desi-dramas.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Desi-Dramas Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033j40tjJOYSJREHnoGBGS Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/desi-dramas/id1896851794 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desidramaspodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desidramas Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/heena-manglani-terranova-san-diego-ca/1213462 New episodes every Tuesday. This is Desi Dramas. It isn't therapy, but I trust it has been therapeutic. Find one need you constantly long for, and bring that to the conversation.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   3 Things to Say to Your Grown Child Instead of Guilt-Tripping

   Desi aunty, you are the villain, but only because no one ever taught you how to ask for what you actually want. I'm Dr. Heena Manglani-Terranova, a Desi clinical psychologist. If you have ever forwarded your grown child one of those videos that are intended to create guilt, I bet it didn't work to bring you closer to your child. What's underneath that forward is much simpler: you want time, you want respect, you want empathy. So in this episode I take three things you already know from the rasoi: a pressure cooker, a karahi on too-high heat, and the spices you roast early on to show you exactly what to say instead. 0:00 Teaser — "Desi aunty, you are the villain" 0:02 The guilt-trip video Desi parents forward to their grown children 0:58 What you actually want: time, respect, and empathy 1:10 Who am I? — a Desi clinical psychologist 1:25 Time — "You have all this time for your friends and none for us" 1:56 Your grown child is a pressure cooker 3:03 Say this instead: "I would love to see you. No pressure." 3:37 Respect — coming in hot burns the sabzi 4:06 Turn down the heat: "I have some ideas. Tell me what you've thought about already." 5:27 Empathy — the spices go in early or not at all 6:20 "It must be so hard for you to juggle everything you have going on" 7:30 Takeaways Next week: Desi aunty, you are NOT the villain. This episode is the what — what to say and do differently. Next week is the why: why you feel what you feel with your child, and where that reaction actually came from. And if you're stuck in your own drama, send it to me at desi-dramas.com. I might unpack it anonymously in a future episode. To find the podcast, resources, and contact Dr. Heena: Contact: https://desi-dramas.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Desi-Dramas Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033j40tjJOYSJREHnoGBGS Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/desi-dramas/id1896851794 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desidramaspodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desidramas Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/heena-manglani-terranova-san-diego-ca/1213462

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

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