House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy Dr. Marisa G. Franco: Why Do Friendships Matter? (Part 1)
What’s the single best action a person can take now to live a longer life? How do you take the edge off depression? What can single people do to flourish, and partnered people do to revitalize their romantic relationships? One answer: having good friendships.
Our guest is Dr. Marisa G. Franco psychologist and author of “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep - Friends.” In this episode (part 1 of 2), they talk about loneliness, how to have high-quality friendships, friendship among men, and the pitfalls of leaning on romantic partnerships for everything.
(03:38) Have we gotten rusty at friendship?
(05:22) Are we in a state of “learned loneliness?”
(07:53) What’s driving the narrowing of friend networks?
(10:54) What makes for a high-quality friendship?
(14:36) Romantic versus platonic love
(17:07) How can same-sex friendships help us understand friendship?
(21:43) How can men have deeper friendships?
(25:05) Dr. Franco’s interest in friendship
(27:48) What is attachment theory and what’s your style?
(30:13) Setting up our kids for healthy friendships
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Dr. Marisa G. Franco, Friendship Expert & Psychologist
Twitter: @DrMarisaGFranco
Instagram: @drmarisagfranco
About Dr. Marisa G. Franco
A psychologist, speaker, and bestselling author, Dr. Marisa G. Franco is known for digesting and communicating science in ways that resonate deeply enough with people to change their lives. She is a professor at The University of Maryland and authored the NYT bestseller Platonic: How The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends. She writes about friendship for Psychology Today and has been a featured in The New York Times, The Telegraph, and Vice. She speaks on belonging at corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and universities.
For tips on friendship, you can follow her on Instagram (DrMarisaGFranco), or go to her website, www.DrMarisaGFranco.com, where you can take a quiz to assess your strengths and weaknesses as a friend.