The value of friendship has been reinvigorated and has emerged as a personal and societal priority, especially given the challenges of the COVID pandemic as well as the release of the findings of the 85-year longitudinal Harvard study indicating that relationships are more important than any other factor in determining happiness. Additional research finds that positive long-term friendships are highly correlated with health and psychological benefits including a sense of wellbeing. Nevertheless, it is surprising how relatively little is known about the psychology of friendship and how significant of a challenge it is for both men and women to maintain long-term meaningful friendships and to establish new ones.

In the next in-person meeting of the Relationship Group Seminar on Saturday, July 15, 2023 (11:45 AM to 1:00 PM), we will investigate the psychology of friendship. The topics to be considered will include the relational components put forth by researchers that qualify a bond as friendship; the energy involved in building and maintaining friendships, especially the work of Robin Dunbar, author or Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships, who has identified the normative limits of the number of friends and best friends people typically have; and the underlying dynamics and processes involved in building a friendship, including the role of attraction and social cognition. Lydia Denworth’s TED Talk “The Science of Friendship” will also be considered for its depiction of friendship as a cultural, biological and social phenomenon. Our focus, however, will be on the American Psychological Association’s podcast interview of Marisa Franco, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make-and Keep-Friends, who offers a comprehensive review of friendship that consists of advice on how to create new friendships and a description of the ways in which friendships dissolve.

*Registration Directions: If you would like to attend the next in-person meeting of the Relationship Group Seminar on Saturday, July 15, 2023, 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM, please RSVP to me at 949-338-4388 or jt@jamestobinphd.com no later than Thursday, July 13, 2023. The seminar will be held at 15615 Alton Parkway, Suite 450, in Irvine, CA.  The fee is $30.00 and informed consent for participation must be completed prior to the seminar. Please note that the Relationship Group Seminar is psychoeducational in nature, not therapeutic, and does not constitute psychotherapy or counseling.