A Little Help For Our Friends
A LITTLE HELP FOR OUR FRIENDS is a mental health podcast hosted by Dr. Kibby McMahon, licensed clinical psychologist and CEO 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 a clinical psychologist from Duke University, Dr. Kibby shares her expertise on the relational nature of mental health. She mixes evidence-based learning with her own personal examples and stories from their listeners. Episodes are a range of solo episodes with Dr. Kibby, 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, world experts on personality disorders like Dr. Zach Rosenthal, 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 Dr. Kibby directly.
Episodes
160 episodes
Making You the Villain: The Gaslighting Effect of Projection
Ever walk away from a conversation feeling like the villain in someone else’s story? In this episode, I dig into projection—the defense that pushes a person’s unwanted traits and feelings onto you—and show how it warps reality, fuels gaslightin...
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Season 6
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Episode 161
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49:03
So Long, Co-Host; Hello, Crippling Self-Doubt and New Frontiers
Little Helpers, this is a new era for this community: This is my first episode as the solo host of "A Little Help For Our Friends." It's Dr. Kibby and we're saying goodbye to my beloved co-host, Jacqueline Trumbull as she moves on from this pod...
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Season 6
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Episode 160
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38:23
Interview with Jordon Monroe: Healing Narcissism With Honesty And Heart
To open Season 6 with a bang, we start where most hot takes end: with a self-aware narcissist describing his collapse, the shame behind the mask, and the painstaking choices that made empathy real. Jordan Monroe, a former tech founder turned em...
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Season 6
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Episode 159
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59:00
Season 5 Wrap Up: Beating Cancer, Becoming a Psychologist, and Leaping into the Next Chapter
What happens when the hamster wheels we've been running on suddenly stop spinning? In this raw and deeply personal Season 5 finale, we pull back the curtain on our own mental health journeys over the past year, revealing the profound transforma...
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Season 5
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Episode 158
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56:34
Manifestation: Path to Your Dreams or Just Wishful Thinking?
What happens when two skeptical psychologists take a deep dive into the world of manifestation? In this episode, we take a look at what "manifestation" is, what is actually based in science...and then we try manifesting for real. W...
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Season 5
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Episode 157
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1:02:55
Eating Disorders: What Friends and Family Need to Know
Do you have a family member, friend or roommate whose relationship to food is a little...concerning? Eating disorders hide in plain sight, often disguised as diet culture, fitness goals, or "healthy eating." But beneath these socially acceptabl...
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Season 5
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Episode 156
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1:00:49
Enabling: When Helping Our Loved Ones Makes Things Worse
When does our help cross the line from supportive to harmful for our loved ones with mental health challenges? In this episode we dive deep into the complex dynamics of "unintentional reinforcement," a less judgmental term for "enabling" ...
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Season 5
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Episode 155
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56:44
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Humiliation: The Spiciest Social Emotion
Humiliation might be the most painful social emotion we experience, even traumatizing. Yet it's much less talked about compared to its cousin, shame. In this revealing episode, we unpack the distinct characteristics that make humiliation unique...
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Season 5
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Episode 154
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1:06:31
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
