Therapy Works

In this Agony Aunties episode, Emily, Sophie and Julia respond to a moving question from a listener navigating grief after the loss of her husband, and the added pain of feeling let down by her siblings. Together, they explore the loneliness that can follow bereavement, why family members often struggle to show up in the way we need, and how unspoken expectations, old family dynamics and fear around grief can create distance. They reflect on how to communicate needs more clearly, make sense of disappointment, and gently find support beyond your immediate family when it’s not available in the way you hoped.

More from Therapy Works:

Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/

Grieving someone you love? Julia's Grief Works Support Programme offers structured, expert-led help, with 94% of people reporting feeling better after using it. As a podcast listener you can get 25% off plus a 30-day money-back guarantee here - www.griefworks.com/therapy

Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.

If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
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In this special bonus episode of Therapy Works, recorded live, I’m joined by the wonderful Helen Fielding - journalist, novelist, and creator of the iconic Bridget Jones. Together we explore the challenge of writing about grief, the death of Mark Darcy, and the tender, complicated reality of supporting children through loss, while still allowing space for laughter, mess, and life.Helen speaks with such honesty, wit and wisdom about creativity, motherhood, humour, and the very human gap between who we feel we should be and who we really are. It is a moving and funny conversation about being loved “just as you are”, and about how stories can help us feel less alone.Find Helen:


Instagram: @helenfielding

More from Therapy Works:

Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/

Grieving someone you love? Julia's Grief Works Support Programme offers structured, expert-led help, with 94% of people reporting feeling better after using it. As a podcast listener you can get 25% off plus a 30-day money-back guarantee here - www.griefworks.com/therapy

Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.

If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, the Agony Aunties respond to a parent struggling to support their son through GCSE exam stress, offering a compassionate reminder that while exams can feel overwhelming, the most powerful thing a parent can provide is connection—not solutions. The Agony Aunties explore how to open supportive, pressure-free conversations, encourage collaboration rather than control, and gently help teenagers manage anxiety by breaking things into smaller, more manageable chunks. They also highlight the importance of honesty around parental expectations, the value of rest and self-care (balanced with realism about teenage habits), and reassuring both parent and child that even worst-case scenarios are not the end of the road. Above all, the Agony Aunties emphasise that feeling understood and not alone is often the greatest stabiliser during stressful times—and that, ultimately, exams will pass.

More from Therapy Works:

Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/

Grieving someone you love? Julia's Grief Works Support Programme offers structured, expert-led help, with 94% of people reporting feeling better after using it. As a podcast listener you can get 25% off plus a 30-day money-back guarantee here - www.griefworks.com/therapy

Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.

If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, I speak with psychiatrist, neuroscientist and author Amir Levine about his new book Secure, and how we can move towards more secure attachment in our relationships. Amir explains why attachment is not a fixed label, but something far more flexible and alive, shaped by the people and environments around us. We explore the biology of connection, why exclusion can feel like physical pain, and how our ancient need for safety and belonging still drives so much of our behaviour today.We also talk about how change happens through the small, everyday interactions that either deepen insecurity or help us build trust. Amir shares his CARRP framework, consistency, availability, responsiveness, reliability and predictability, and how these qualities can create a more secure life. Together we reflect on anxious and avoidant patterns, the protest-regret cycle, dating, loneliness, friendship, secure villages and how, especially in an uncertain world, our relationships can become the shield that helps us endure.

Buy his book 'Secure: Rewire Your Attachment Style and Transform Your Relationships, Health and Happiness': https://amzn.eu/d/05fucNjI

Find Amir: https://amirlevinemd.com/

More from Therapy Works:

Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/

Grieving someone you love? Julia's Grief Works Support Programme offers structured, expert-led help, with 94% of people reporting feeling better after using it. As a podcast listener you can get 25% off plus a 30-day money-back guarantee here - www.griefworks.com/therapy

Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.

If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Agony Aunties respond to a heartfelt question from a listener struggling with ongoing financial stress following COVID and the rising cost of living. They explore how money anxiety taps into deep feelings of uncertainty, lack of control, and shame, and why these pressures can ripple into sleep, relationships, and family dynamics. The Agony Aunties gently reframe the experience, encouraging self-compassion over self-blame, and highlighting how external factors - like global instability and economic shifts - play a significant role. Alongside emotional support, they offer practical guidance: balancing worry with moments of gratitude, having open and honest conversations to reduce shame, seeking connection and shared experiences, and taking small, manageable financial steps to regain a sense of agency. This episode is a compassionate reminder that you’re not alone, that this is hard, and that support - both emotional and practical - is available.

More from Therapy Works:

Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/

Download the Grief Works app here: https://www.griefworks.com/ 

Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.

If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices