Friendship Therapy

By Emma Reed Turrell

What's Friendship Therapy about?

Friendship Therapy is a brand new podcast, in which psychotherapist and author Emma Reed Turrell talks to real people about real friendships and looks at these pivotal relationships through a therapy lens.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Friendship Therapy episodes:

05.23.2024
Friendship Therapy - Coming Soon!
Friendship Therapy is a brand new podcast coming soon, in which psychotherapist and author Emma Reed Turrell talks to real people about real friendships and looks at these pivotal relationships through a therapy lens. Subscribe now and don't miss the first...
03.18.2024
S7, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Goodbye - Join us for a look back over the last two years of BFT and what makes this community so special...
Well, here we are. Emma is firmly in denial and Elizabeth is busy looking for silver linings because this week's episode of Best Friend Therapy is our LAST ONE EVER. Probably. We have loved every minute of these last two years,...
03.11.2024
S7, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Blind Spots - How does unconscious bias affect us? Why do we need perspective? What's your blind spot profile?
We begin this episode with the announcement that this... sniff... will be... sniff... our last season of Best Friend Therapy but DON'T PANIC because there are good reasons which we'll go into and plenty of exciting new projects in the...
03.04.2024
S7, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Drama Triangle - Do you end up having the same old arguments? Listen and learn how to handle conflict better.
Welcome back to Best Friend Therapy and this season’s opportunity for Emma to therapise our beloved guinea pig, Elizabeth Day, whilst offering some psycho-education for us all about the Transactional Analysis concept of the “Drama Triangle” - why and how...
02.26.2024
S7, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Introverts and Extroverts - What's the difference? How do these traits develop? Which way is best?
What is introversion and extroversion anyway?This week we’re drawing on the ideas of Carl Jung, and the Big Five personality traits, to help us understand why some people get their energy from being around other people, and others prefer to...
02.19.2024
S7, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Comparison - Is it a bad thing? How can it help us? What does it tell us about ourselves?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we tackle the thorny issue of comparison - how it gets in our way, what its true function is and how it can actually direct us to feel happier and more fulfilled.From Reese Witherspoon...
02.12.2024
S7 Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Emotional Detachment - When should we take a step back? What stops us? Can it make for healthier relationships?
Welcome to this week's episode of Best Friend Therapy - the one where we ask the tough questions...* What's the difference between emotional detachment and emotional unavailability?* Why can needs get confused with neediness?* How do sympathy and empathy serve...
02.05.2024
S7, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Childfree, Not By Choice - How does it feel? Can there be peace in the end? Why does the language matter?
11.27.2023
S6, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Rejection - Why does it hurt so much? How can we overcome it? What is self-rejection?
TW: Discussion on miscarriage.Welcome to this week's episode of Best Friend Therapy - the fourth instalment of our miniseries on break-ups and the final episode of Season 6!As we have been exploring different break-ups, whether it be a romantic relationship,...
11.20.2023
S6, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Work Break-Ups - How can you cope with unexpected endings? What can you do if your work's not working?
Welcome to this week's episode of Best Friend Therapy, and the penultimate instalment of our miniseries on break-ups. So far we have been focusing on personal relationships but today it’s time to take a look at professional break-ups - from...
11.13.2023
S6, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Break-ups with friends and family - Can you end a friendship? How do you change old family dynamics?
Welcome back to our break-ups miniseries, and this week we're looking at the thorny issue of how to end, change or evolve a relationship with friends and family. We talk about why remaining friends is not always as kind as...
11.06.2023
S6, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: The Break-Ups MINISERIES - Romantic Heartbreak, Why it Hurts and How to Heal
In a first for Best Friend Therapy, we bring you a four-part MINISERIES, all about break-ups.We'd be lying if we said it was intentional but we quickly realised there was far too much to say about romatic break-ups, let along...
10.30.2023
S6, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Burnout - Why do we burn out? What is emotional exhaustion? How can we prevent it?
This week, we’re talking about burnout and that particular kind of emotional exhaustion that can knock us off our feet and leave us feeling utterly depleted. Emma and Elizabeth both share their own personal stories of burnout and explore what...
10.22.2023
S6, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Ego - What is our ego supposed to do for us? When does ego get in our way? How can we strike a balance?
This week, Elizabeth shares a challenging work scenario, in which she found herself at the pointy end of someone else's ego.We go back and look at the original meaning of ego through the eyes of Freud, with an overview of...
10.16.2023
S6, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Responsibility - Do we want it? Can we balance accountability and freedom? Who are we really responsible for?
This week we’re looking at the theme of Responsibility, how we feel about it, and how its meaning might change for us over time. Whether it begins with a badge on our blazers or a ticket to teenage independence, being...
10.09.2023
S6, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Toxic Positivity - What are good vibes? Is there always a bright side? How can positivity help and hinder us?
We’re back with Season 6 of Best Friend Therapy and we are overjoyed to be in your ears again!In fact we're feeling so damn positive about life right now, we thought we'd kick off with a conversation about whether positivity...
08.07.2023
S5, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Uncertain Times - How can we cope with uncertainty? Why can it make us anxious? Can it also offer opportunity?
It's that time again, it's our season finale!And this week on Best Friend Therapy, we thought it fitting to send you into the break with an episode all about uncertain times.We explore how cultural events such as the pandemic, the...
07.31.2023
S5, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Unmet Needs - Live therapy session - What did you need? How can you meet that need now? Where can you start?
Join us for this season's live therapy experience, with our glamorous assistant/guinea pig, Elizabeth Day!This week, Emma blends techniques from Neuro Linguistic Programming and timeline therapy to guide Elizabeth back through some significant experiences, in order to identify an unmet...
07.24.2023
S5, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Inner Child - What is inner child work in therapy? How can we access our intuition? Can we meet our needs now?
This week we are talking about how we can tune in to our 'inner child'. Or, at least, we're attempting to because Elizabeth has so far found her inner child to be quite elusive and the prospect of dancing on...
07.16.2023
S5, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Gaslighting - What is it? How can we recognise coercive control? Does it only affect romantic relationships?
TW; discussions around suicide.This week we are talking about gaslighting, where the term originates from and how it has helped us name a particular type of coercive control.We also talk about how it has been more recently adopted in casual...
07.10.2023
S5, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Regret - What is regret? How might it be holding us back? Can we learn from experiences that don’t end well?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we are reflecting on regret.As usual, we strive to keep our conversation authentic, which is why you’ll hear us singing along with Edith Piaf, receiving deliveries from the postman, battling with flies and playing...
07.06.2023
Introducing: It Can't Just Be Me
Hey Listener... We have a podcast we think you'll like! Listen to 'It Can't Just Be Me' now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday.
07.03.2023
S5, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Menopause - Is it an ending or a new beginning? How can we tune in to our bodies? What help is out there?
This week we're talking all things menopause.Emma and Elizabeth share their journeys so far, through the wild ride that is peri-menopause, and look at the good (no longer doing things you don't want to do), the bad (next-level anxiety) and...
06.26.2023
S5, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Perfectionism - Is it about control? How does it hold us back? Can we learn to be good enough?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we're talking about DIY!Ok, we're not but, with all of our references to sanding and painting, we might as well be. We are actually talking about how we need friction to make meaningful bonds...
06.19.2023
S5, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Co-dependency - What makes a relationship unhealthy? How can we change old patterns? Where do we start?
Welcome back, to Season Five of Best Friend Therapy!We're kicking this season off with a conversation all about co-dependency - what does it mean and why is it a problem?We chat about how co-dependency shows up in our families, our...
04.17.2023
S4, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Empowerment - What is crone energy? Why is ageing positive? How can menopause empower us?
Welcome to this season finale of Best Friend Therapy, in which we're talking about something we could all do with a bit more of in life - crone energy and the empowerment it brings.Far from the Cambridge English dictionary’s definition...
04.10.2023
S4, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Narcissists - Do you know a taker? When is a boundary really a demand? How can we protect ourselves?
This week we're talking about those familiar situations, friendships and relationships, in which people take more from us than they give.We look at the difference between boundaries and demands, and explain why our tolerance for narcissistic traits in other people...
04.03.2023
S4 Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Guilt - Why do we feel bad? When is it misplaced? What can we do about it?
Guilt is a feeling that plagues so many of us that we felt compelled to dedicate an entire episode to it!Emma explains the difference between authentic guilt and the misplaced guilt we can feel when we turn anger back in...
03.27.2023
S4 Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Teenagers - How can we help our teens? What kind of teen were you? Why is defiance essential to development?
This week's Best Friend Therapy is all about teenagers - the ones we used to be and the ones we need to parent, whether that's now or in the future. Elizabeth tells us about her late rebellion and Emma explains...
03.20.2023
S4, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Self Worth - What is it? How can we improve our relationship with ourselves? Where do we start?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we're tackling the thorny issue of self-worth, or the lack of it.Emma explores the difference between self-esteem and "others-esteem" and why we can fall into the trap of outsourcing our sense of self to...
03.13.2023
S4, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Friendaholic - What makes a friendship addict? Why was Elizabeth compelled to write a book about it?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we are lucky enough to have an access-all-areas, behind the scenes pass to Elizabeth's brand new book, Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, published by 4th Estate on 30th March 2023. She tells us...
03.06.2023
S4, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Inside the Therapy Room - How do you find a good therapist? What's involved? How do you become a therapist?
This week on Best Friend Therapy, we are responding to the many requests we've received for a conversation about therapy itself: when to seek therapy, how to find a therapist, how to become a therapist, where to start and what...
02.27.2023
S4, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Grief - How can we cope with loss? What is the function of grief? How can we help people who are grieving?
TW: Trauma, miscarriage.Welcome back to season four of Best Friend Therapy!We wanted to open this new beginning with a conversation about ending because the two go hand in hand and because grief is a subject that touches us all.It has...
01.09.2023
S3, BONUS EPISODE! Best Friend Therapy: Flexibility - How can it help? Why does balance matter? Is it about change or acceptance?
Happy New Year from Best Friend Therapy!We're so delighted to be back with you for another year of conversations where we talk about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds.And we're kicking off with this bonus episode...
12.26.2022
S3, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Festive Hangovers - Why can Christmas feel complicated? How can we support ourselves? What can we learn?
Merry Christmas from Best Friend Therapy! Or not. Because, however your festive season has been this year, and however you chose to celebrate, you’re welcome in this conversation. So join us, as we ease our festive hangovers together (both...
12.19.2022
S3, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Feeling Left Out - What is FOMO? How can loneliness affect us? Why is self-awareness the antidote?
You’ll never be left out from Best Friend Therapy, but if it’s a feeling you know elsewhere in your life, this week’s episode might be for you.We’re talking about FOMO, not being invited to the party, or sitting at home...
12.12.2022
S3, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Dreams - Why do we dream? How can they help us? What on earth did Elizabeth's dream mean?
It’s a bit of a different episode this week, as Emma takes Elizabeth through a live therapy process of dream analysis. Listen along while Elizabeth unpacks her deepest subconscious, meet her happy-go-lucky island and her all-seeing sky, and hear what...
12.05.2022
S3, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Anxiety - Why do we feel anxious? Is it always a bad thing? What can we do about it?
This week, on Best Friend Therapy, we’re talking about feeling anxious (and we're feeling quite anxious while we’re doing it). Anxiety can take many forms, be it seasonal, situational, or a post-pandemic hangover. As a diffuse term, it's not always...
11.28.2022
S3, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Working With Your Best Friend - Is it all plain sailing? What if you disagree? How can you make it work?
Lots of our lovely listeners have asked us what it’s like to work with your best friend, so this week we’re here to spill the tea. It’s take your bestie to work day.We talk about what we've loved, from sharing...
11.21.2022
S3, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Attachment Styles - What are they? How do they affect us? What do they mean for our relationships?
This week, on Best Friend Therapy, we’re talking about attachments. No, not the Velcro and poppers kind, but the way we *emotionally* attach to other people. We look at the work of psychologists like John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, to...
11.14.2022
S3, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Dating - Why is it so hard sometimes? Do apps have a lot to answer for? What can it teach us about ourselves?
This week's episode of Best Friend Therapy *cue gravelly trailer voiceover* tells one woman's courageous journey through the world of online dating, and what it took to survive on the apps... Only joking, Elizabeth, it wasn't that bad! We do...
11.07.2022
S3, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Anger - Is anger different from rage? How can it help us? Why do we end up feeling guilty instead?
Welcome back to Season Three of Best Friend Therapy!We are so delighted to be with you for another season of conversations and this week we’re talking about something that gets a bad rap in our society and is often misunderstood...
10.31.2022
S3 Best Friend Therapy: Trailer
Season Three of Best Friend Therapy is coming very soon!We can't wait to be back with you next week, for more conversations about the topics that get us all talking... starting with the things that make our blood boil.Subscribe now...
09.05.2022
S2, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Quitting - Is it the same as giving up? Can we quit well? What's the risk if we don't quit?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and we've come to end of Season Two already!So we're throwing in the towel, we're giving up, we're admitting defeat -...
08.29.2022
S2, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Transactional Analysis Therapy - What is it? What happens when Emma therapises Elizabeth live on air?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and this week we're doing something a little bit different. We're going down the rabbit hole and we're taking you with...
08.22.2022
S2, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Divorce - Is it failure or evolution? How does it affect wider relationships? Is there a way to divorce well?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and this week we're turning up the volume on some Tammy Wynette (not Dolly Parton, Emma) to talk about D.I.V.O.R.C.E.Stigmatised by...
08.15.2022
S2, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Feelings - Why do we have feelings? What should we do with them? Is anxiety a masking emotion?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and this week we're bringing you a Feelings 101 - everything you ever needed to know about what we feel, why...
08.08.2022
S2, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Toxic Friendships - How do we define friendship? What makes a friendship toxic? What can we do about it?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and this week we're talking about a hotly requested topic - toxic friendships.We talk about how the pandemic reset friendship protocol...
08.01.2022
S2, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Jealousy - Why do we feel jealous? How does it affect our relationships? What can we do about it?
Welcome to Best Friend Therapy, where we chat about what's on our minds, to get deeper in our minds, and this week we're talking about jealousy.Do you have a touch of the green-eyed monster?Well, that might not be a bad...
07.25.2022
S2, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Fertility - What's the reality? How does the language impact us? How can we support each other?
TW: MiscarriageThis week's episode is on a subject that's incredibly close to our hearts - fertility. We wanted to do it justice by sharing some very personal stories and so it feels important to say that, if you are going...

What's Friendship Therapy about?

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Friendship Therapy episodes:

Friendship Therapy - Coming Soon!

S7, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Goodbye - Join us for a look back over the last two years of BFT and what makes this community so special...

S7, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Blind Spots - How does unconscious bias affect us? Why do we need perspective? What's your blind spot profile?

S7, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Drama Triangle - Do you end up having the same old arguments? Listen and learn how to handle conflict better.

S7, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Introverts and Extroverts - What's the difference? How do these traits develop? Which way is best?

S7, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Comparison - Is it a bad thing? How can it help us? What does it tell us about ourselves?

S7 Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Emotional Detachment - When should we take a step back? What stops us? Can it make for healthier relationships?

S7, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Childfree, Not By Choice - How does it feel? Can there be peace in the end? Why does the language matter?

S6, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Rejection - Why does it hurt so much? How can we overcome it? What is self-rejection?

S6, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Work Break-Ups - How can you cope with unexpected endings? What can you do if your work's not working?

S6, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Break-ups with friends and family - Can you end a friendship? How do you change old family dynamics?

S6, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: The Break-Ups MINISERIES - Romantic Heartbreak, Why it Hurts and How to Heal

S6, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Burnout - Why do we burn out? What is emotional exhaustion? How can we prevent it?

S6, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Ego - What is our ego supposed to do for us? When does ego get in our way? How can we strike a balance?

S6, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Responsibility - Do we want it? Can we balance accountability and freedom? Who are we really responsible for?

S6, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Toxic Positivity - What are good vibes? Is there always a bright side? How can positivity help and hinder us?

S5, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Uncertain Times - How can we cope with uncertainty? Why can it make us anxious? Can it also offer opportunity?

S5, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Unmet Needs - Live therapy session - What did you need? How can you meet that need now? Where can you start?

S5, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Inner Child - What is inner child work in therapy? How can we access our intuition? Can we meet our needs now?

S5, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Gaslighting - What is it? How can we recognise coercive control? Does it only affect romantic relationships?

S5, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Regret - What is regret? How might it be holding us back? Can we learn from experiences that don’t end well?

Introducing: It Can't Just Be Me

S5, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Menopause - Is it an ending or a new beginning? How can we tune in to our bodies? What help is out there?

S5, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Perfectionism - Is it about control? How does it hold us back? Can we learn to be good enough?

S5, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Co-dependency - What makes a relationship unhealthy? How can we change old patterns? Where do we start?

S4, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Empowerment - What is crone energy? Why is ageing positive? How can menopause empower us?

S4, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Narcissists - Do you know a taker? When is a boundary really a demand? How can we protect ourselves?

S4 Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Guilt - Why do we feel bad? When is it misplaced? What can we do about it?

S4 Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Teenagers - How can we help our teens? What kind of teen were you? Why is defiance essential to development?

S4, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Self Worth - What is it? How can we improve our relationship with ourselves? Where do we start?

S4, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Friendaholic - What makes a friendship addict? Why was Elizabeth compelled to write a book about it?

S4, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Inside the Therapy Room - How do you find a good therapist? What's involved? How do you become a therapist?

S4, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Grief - How can we cope with loss? What is the function of grief? How can we help people who are grieving?

S3, BONUS EPISODE! Best Friend Therapy: Flexibility - How can it help? Why does balance matter? Is it about change or acceptance?

S3, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Festive Hangovers - Why can Christmas feel complicated? How can we support ourselves? What can we learn?

S3, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Feeling Left Out - What is FOMO? How can loneliness affect us? Why is self-awareness the antidote?

S3, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Dreams - Why do we dream? How can they help us? What on earth did Elizabeth's dream mean?

S3, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Anxiety - Why do we feel anxious? Is it always a bad thing? What can we do about it?

S3, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Working With Your Best Friend - Is it all plain sailing? What if you disagree? How can you make it work?

S3, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Attachment Styles - What are they? How do they affect us? What do they mean for our relationships?

S3, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Dating - Why is it so hard sometimes? Do apps have a lot to answer for? What can it teach us about ourselves?

S3, Ep 1 Best Friend Therapy: Anger - Is anger different from rage? How can it help us? Why do we end up feeling guilty instead?

S3 Best Friend Therapy: Trailer

S2, Ep 8 Best Friend Therapy: Quitting - Is it the same as giving up? Can we quit well? What's the risk if we don't quit?

S2, Ep 7 Best Friend Therapy: Transactional Analysis Therapy - What is it? What happens when Emma therapises Elizabeth live on air?

S2, Ep 6 Best Friend Therapy: Divorce - Is it failure or evolution? How does it affect wider relationships? Is there a way to divorce well?

S2, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Feelings - Why do we have feelings? What should we do with them? Is anxiety a masking emotion?

S2, Ep 4 Best Friend Therapy: Toxic Friendships - How do we define friendship? What makes a friendship toxic? What can we do about it?

S2, Ep 3 Best Friend Therapy: Jealousy - Why do we feel jealous? How does it affect our relationships? What can we do about it?

S2, Ep 2 Best Friend Therapy: Fertility - What's the reality? How does the language impact us? How can we support each other?

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