A Little Help For Our Friends
A LITTLE HELP FOR OUR FRIENDS is a mental health podcast hosted by Jacqueline Trumbull (Bachelor alum, Ph.D student) and Dr. Kibby McMahon (clinical psychologist and cofounder of KulaMind). The podcast sheds light on the psychological issues your loved ones could be struggling with and provides scientifically-informed perspectives on various mental health topics like dealing with toxic relationships, narcissism, trauma, and therapy.
As two clinical psychologists from Duke University, Jacqueline and Dr. Kibby share insights from their training on the relational nature of mental health. They mix evidence-based learning with their own personal examples and stories from their listeners. Episodes are a range of conversations between Kibby & Jacqueline themselves, as well as with featured guests including Bachelor Nation members such as Zac Clark speaking on addiction recovery, Ben Higgins on loneliness, and Jenna Cooper on cyberbullying, as well as therapists & doctors such as sleep specialist Dr. Jade Wu, amongst many others. Additional topics covered on the podcast have included fertility, gaslighting, depression, mental health & veterans, mindfulness, and much more. Episodes are released every other week. For more information, check out www.ALittleHelpForOurFriends.com
Do you need help coping with a loved one's mental or emotional problems? Check out www.KulaMind.com, an exclusive community where you can connect other fans of "A Little Help" and get support from cohosts Dr. Kibby and Jacqueline.
Episodes
152 episodes
Interview with Agatha Peters: Navigating Narcissism Across Cultural Lines
What happens when cultural expectations of family loyalty collide with the reality of narcissistic abuse? In this special episode, licensed clinical social worker Agatha Peters brings a fresh perspective to this complex intersection, drawing fr...
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Season 5
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Episode 153
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56:31
Interview with Amber Rae: When Staying In A Safe Relationship Hurts You More Than Leaving
What happens when you look into a stranger's eyes and suddenly realize what's been missing from your marriage all along? In this episode, bestselling author Amber Rae joins us to share her transformative ...
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Season 5
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Episode 152
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54:31
Love Island USA Analysis Part 2: The Emotional Intelligence Behind Reality TV Relationships
Now that Season 7 of "Love Island USA" has finished, we're unpacking the fascinating psychological dynamics that made this season so compelling.In this episode, we discussed how the men of Love Island gave us a masterclass in modern mas...
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Season 5
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Episode 151
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1:10:22
The Hidden Pain of Rejection: Understanding Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and Its Link to ADHD
What happens when criticism feels like a physical blow? For some of you, rejection and criticism trigger an emotional response so intense it has its own name: Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD).In this episode, we deep into the painf...
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Season 5
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Episode 150
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1:06:19
Love Island USA Analysis Part 1: Untangling Reality TV Relationship Dynamics
Ever wondered what reality TV can teach us about psychology? In this episode, we put our mental health expertise to "work" analyzing the relationship dynamics on the first 17 episodes of Season 7 of "Love Island USA," revealing fascinatin...
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Season 5
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Episode 149
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1:08:53
The Fight You Didn’t Mean to Start: Why Conflict Escalates and How to Defuse It
Ever felt yourself going from calm to explosive in seconds flat? Or watched someone you care about transform into a raging stranger over something seemingly small? In this episode, we dive deep into the anatomy of emotional explosions - those h...
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Season 5
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Episode 148
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1:14:25
The Cost of Anxious Attachment: When Someone's Insecurities Make You Question Your Worth
Do you ever feel like you're walking on eggshells around someone who constantly needs reassurance? In this episode, we tackle anxious attachment from a different angle - not just what it feels like to be anxiously attached, but how that attachm...
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Season 5
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Episode 147
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1:09:37
Understanding Others' Minds: The Science of Mind-Reading in Borderline Personality Disorder
What happens when you can't understand what others are thinking or feeling? Why do some people constantly misinterpret your intentions? The answers lie in a fascinating psychological process called mentalization.Mentalization—our abilit...
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Season 5
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Episode 146
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1:01:05
The Science of Co-Regulation: Building Safety in Relationships
Ever wonder why holding your partner's hand during a stressful moment instantly calms you down? The answer lies in the fascinating neurobiological dance of co-regulation – when two nervous systems attune to and influence each other, creating sa...
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Season 5
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Episode 145
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1:00:40
When One Chases and the Other Runs: Understanding the Pursuer-Withdrawer Dynamics in Couples
Feeling stuck in the same arguments with your partner? Does it feel like a cycle of one of you is chasing and the other is running away? In this episode, we talk about the problematic cycle behind recurring relationship conflicts through the le...
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Season 5
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Episode 144
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1:00:33
Self-Hatred: Wrestling With The Hidden Demon
Have you ever had the unsettling realization that perhaps you don't like yourself very much? That underneath all your accomplishments, relationships, and hard work, there's a persistent voice whispering that you're somehow fundamentally flawed?...
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Season 5
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Episode 143
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1:15:48
Sex After Trauma: How PTSD Affects Sexual Intimacy
The invisible connection between trauma and sexual intimacy affects countless relationships, yet remains largely hidden in silence and shame. In this episode, we dive deep into why PTSD creates significant barriers to healthy sexual function—ev...
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Season 5
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Episode 142
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57:18
Interview with Dr. Jordan Quaglia: The Science of We-Care beyond Self-Care
Do we always have to choose between caring for ourselves vs. caring for others? Nope! Dr. Jordan Quaglia, associate professor at Naropa University, introduces us to "We-Care" – a revolutionary approach to caring that blends self-care and caring...
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Season 5
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Episode 141
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1:11:59
Triangulation: How Loved Ones Get Stuck in Toxic Relationship Dynamics
Have you ever noticed a never-ending cycle of drama amongst your family or friend group? In this episode, we talk about how the Drama Triangle might be the hidden pattern keeping your relationships stuck in painful cycles. Whether you're suppor...
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Season 5
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Episode 140
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58:16
Interview with Paula Croxson: An Insider Look into Polyamory
What if we've been thinking about love all wrong? What if the idea that we must choose just one person to love deeply is simply a cultural construct rather than an inherent truth about human relationships? In this episode, we discuss with Paula...
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Season 5
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Episode 139
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1:10:47
Interview with Madison Errichiello: Love is Blind, Loss, and Healing through Trauma
Madison Errichiello steps out of the "Love is Blind" pods and into a raw, illuminating conversation about healing from trauma and finding strength in vulnerability. Known for her openness about mental health on the show, Madison joins us to rev...
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Season 5
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Episode 138
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1:01:51
Self-Pity: The Social Costs of Wallowing In Your Troubles
Ever found yourself wanting to scream when someone launches into their hundredth "woe is me" monologue? Yep, we've been there. In this episode, we talk about one of the more isolating coping mechanisms: self-pity.We break down exactly w...
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Season 5
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Episode 137
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59:30
MySpace Top Eight: How We're Haunted By Our Teenage Popularity
The wounds of high school popularity - or lack thereof - run surprisingly deep. In this episode, we explore how our teenage and adolescent social status continues to shape our self-concept decades later, informing how we navigate relationships,...
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Season 5
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Episode 136
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1:00:24
Long-Distance Love: Making It Work When Miles Apart
Distance makes the heart grow fonder—or does it? In this episode, we explore long-distance relationships and what the research actually shows about couples who love across miles. We share our own varied experiences with long-distance love—...
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Season 5
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Episode 135
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1:00:45
Your Brain on Extremes: How All-or-Nothing Thinking Affects Mental Health
We all know those moments—when everything feels either perfect or disastrous, when someone is either completely trustworthy or utterly toxic. "All-or-nothing," "black-and-white," or dichotomous thinking, shapes our relationships, political view...
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Season 5
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Episode 134
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1:13:15
Arrested Development: The Generational Trauma of Emotionally Immature Parents
Are your parents bad at dealing with difficult emotions? Do they fall apart, ignore, criticize or withdraw when you need them the most? Emotional immaturity in parents causes profound ripple effects through generations, creating patterns many o...
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Season 5
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Episode 133
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1:02:47
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Why Are They Acting Like a Child? Understanding Emotional Immaturity
When your dating a guy who isn't ready to settle down or your friend whines for not getting what she wants, you roll your eyes and think "they're so immature." But what does being "mature" mean, exactly? In this episode, we nerd out over the co...
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Season 5
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Episode 132
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1:01:55
Interview with Dr. Blaise Aguirre: Confronting the Shadows of Self-Hatred
Do you hate yourself or know someone who does? We delve into the painful reality of people who loathe themselves with Dr. Blaise Aguirre, a distinguished expert in child and adolescent psychiatry at McLean Hospital. We navigate the often-overlo...
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Season 5
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Episode 131
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1:00:28
Navigating the Complex Family Dynamics of a New Marriage
Can a new marriage really shake the foundation of a once harmonious family? Maybe if the newcomer is, ahem, emotionally challenging. In today's episode, we respond to a listener who asked for tips on dealing with the toxic behavior of a new fam...
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Season 5
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Episode 129
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59:00
Exploring Ethical Non-Monogamy: Redefining Commitment and Navigating Open Relationships
Is ethical non-monogamy simply a radical departure from tradition, or a return to our more natural relational roots? In this episode, we respond to one of our fans' questions about how to have an open relationship (thank you, fan from Columbia,...
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Season 5
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Episode 128
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1:12:19
