Kourtney Kardashian Says ‘Generational’ Personal ‘Trauma’ Stems from Being ‘Inside’ Mom Kris and Grandma MJ

“We all have picked people we thought we could change different things about them and we can’t,” Kourtney Kardashian Barker told Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian while discussing the women in their family

Joelle Goldstein is a Staff Editor on the TV team for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand since 2017, working as an intern, digital news writer and Human Interest writer-reporter before joining the TV team to help oversee and edit digital coverage. Her work has previously appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.

Kourtney Kardashian Barker won’t shy away from getting deep — even if it makes those around her uncomfortable.

On Thursday’s episode of The Kardashians, the 44-year-old Poosh founder brought up how her mom Kris Jenner is a “massive control freak” and began to wonder why she’s like that.

“What about you makes you have this need to be so controlling?” Kourtney asked while sitting beside her mom and sister Khloé Kardashian. “Are you ever curious about yourself about why you’re so controlling?”

Kourtney Kardashian Kris Jenner

PHILLIP FARAONE/GETTY;KRIS JENNER/INSTAGRAM

Khloé, 39, pointed out that Kris won’t change, especially at 68, and suggested that Kourtney just “accept” the way she is.

“You weren’t like that when you were in your 20s, but also you had a husband who led the way, and now you lead the way,” Kourtney told her mom. “It does exist, you can be back in your feminine energy whenever you desire.”

Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, MJ Shannon, and Khloe Kardashian

Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, MJ Shannon, and Khloé Kardashian.KHLOE KARDASHIAN INSTAGRAM

Kris rebuffed her daughter’s argument and said she’s in “heaven” when she’s with boyfriend Corey Gamble. However, Kourtney clarified that feminine energy consists of “self-care, not overthinking, not overdoing,” and went on to ask her mom if she goes to therapy.

Kris then changed the topic to point out Kourtney’s dimple, as Khloé joked in a confessional, “God bless Kourtney because she’s trying to have this therapy talk, and God bless my mom because she’s definitely not.”

Getting back on topic, Kourtney opened up to her mom and sister about how going to therapy had shifted her way of thinking when it comes to generational trauma.

“You know how True [Thompson] has eggs in her body right now?” she asked Khloé, referring to her and Tristan Thompson’s 5-year-old daughter. “She had them in her when she was in your body.”

“She was inside of you when you were inside of mom,” Kourtney continued. “So [Grandma] MJ’s trauma and Nonna’s trauma is inside of me, and you, ’cause it was inside of mom. Because mom was in their body.”

Taken aback by her sister’s train of thought, Khloé asked, “That’s what generational trauma is? We’re basing medical advice off of TikTok?”

Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner, winners of The Reality Show of 2021 award for ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians,’ pose during the 2021 People's Choice Awards held at Barker Hangar on December 7, 2021 in Santa Monica, California.

Khloé Kardashian (left) and Kris Jenner.CHRISTOPHER POLK/E! ENTERTAINMENT/NBCUNIVERSAL/NBCU PHOTO BANK VIA GETTY

In a confessional, Kourtney explained the matter further. “I didn’t start a self-awareness journey knowing what I was doing. I started therapy through a toxic relationship, and then learned so much about myself, about my family, about why I do certain things, about our childhood wounds, about how they show up in intimate relationships, generational trauma.”

Kourtney clarified to Khloé, “It’s like, their traumas that get passed down but it’s within a lot of things that we have within us.”

The Good American founder wasn’t convinced by her sister and simply stated, “No offense or anything but why don’t people [say], ‘We all have problems, just buckle up and let’s go?'”

Kourtney then insisted, “There’s certain patterns to break if you don’t wanna pass things down to your kids.”

“You think choosing bad partners is a genetic thing?” Khloé asked, to which Kourtney responded, “I think it’s generational, it’s from MJ.”

This prompted Kris to chime in, insisting that her mom “picked amazing partner with Papa.” But Kourtney refuted that point, saying, “She was married three times … we all have picked people we thought we could change different things about them and we can’t.”

Like Khloé, Kris wasn’t entirely convinced and told her daughter, “I’ve got a very full, fabulous life. Why am I going back to reimagine?”

Kourtney once again insisted, “It’s just if you want to change certain ways. When I was starting therapy … someone’s like, ‘You’re in a toxic relationship, you need to go to therapy.'”

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian Barker. JON KOPALOFF/FILMMAGIC

After Kris changed the topic once more to point out Kourtney’s eyebrows, Kourtney gave up on the topic. “Anyways, therapy is not for everyone,” she told her mom and sister.

Despite her efforts, Kourtney noted in a confessional that what she was saying eventually did resonate with her mother.

“My mom tries to change subjects, or not really face these types of topics, but it really does sink in,” she explained. “She sends me a video afterwards of saying, ‘There’s always that one daughter in the family who does things her way and heals all the family’s generational trauma,’ and I was like, ‘OK, you were listening!'”

As fans know, Kourtney has been an avid supporter of going to therapy for years. In March 2020, she opened up to Health about her struggle with anxiety, revealing that she’s been going to therapy for the past three years.

“Once a week I go to a double session,” she said. “I look forward to it every week! Having that awareness, I find that I can almost catch things before they become a bigger deal.”

“When those harder moments do happen, I think, ‘What’s the lesson that I’m supposed to be learning?’” she continued. “My workouts are key, too. And I go to church once a week, if I can.”

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The Kardashians can be streamed in full on Hulu.

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