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Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity. Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life. So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer. Each of us has to find out for ourselves what makes our life meaningful. But we can learn from each other, share our experiences of how to navigate the journey, how to endure and learn from the swamp, and finally how to find solid ground. I have decided to use my original training in radio and journalism to interview witnesses for what makes life meaningful. Each week, I invite someone who is a therapist, academic, self-help coach or who has an enlightening personal story to share their knowledge or experiences. I hope our discussions will help you discover what makes your life meaningful and find more purpose and contentment.
Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
There’s no one set of rules that will see us through. Psychologist and author PROFESSOR ROSS G. WHITE works instead on the concept of psychological flexibility. If we have flexible habits and mindset, we can navigate life’s inevitable storms with at least a degree of strength and grace.
Ross believes that just as martial arts like jiu-jitsu train students to be grounded and focused, we can also train the mind to be agile and flexible; able to roll with the punches whilst staying true to core values.
Andrew and Ross discuss:
- How to embrace emotional turbulence, and turn fear, frustration or anxiety into opportunities for growth and learning.
- Facing uncertainty with confidence and purpose.
- Why we are easily defeated by rigid routines, and how to embrace flexibility in habits and mindset instead.
- Practical techniques to build mental agility.
Professor Ross G. White is an award-winning clinical psychologist who specializes in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of adults working in high-performance environments. This includes elite-level athletes in rugby, football, athletics and tennis. He is also an expert in global mental health and has conducted research in collaborations with the World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on interventions for reducing distress experienced by refugees in the aftermath of humanitarian crises. He is currently Professor of Clinical Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, and is a director of Strive2Thrive, a training and consultancy.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Don’t Burden Your Children with your Unlived Life.
- Three Things Ross G. White knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Read Ross G. White’s new book, The Tree That Bends: How a Flexible Mind Can Help You Thrive
Visit Ross G. White’s website
In the bonus episode this week Andrew reads from James Hollis’ book, Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey. You can buy the book HERE.
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jul 07, 2025
Monday Jul 07, 2025
Have you ever experienced a strange, inexplicable coincidence that left you feeling “like a grand, mysterious character in a story?” One that seemed to suggest a particular relationship was “meant to be”, or, on the flipside, that it was time to let go?
In this week’s classic episode, Andrew talks to Jungian analyst ROBERT HOPCKE about synchronicity: the strange coincidences that make us feel like the universe is sending us a message, or trying to turn our lives around.
These coincidences have the potential to help us find the meaning we’re seeking. Synchronistic events can offer a sense of underlying wholeness in our lives. They often happen in times of transition, and help us move to the place we need to be. They offer us the opportunity to recognise the symbolic quality of everyday life, and to be alive to the symbolism that everyday objects, events and people present to us.
Robert Hopcke is a Jungian analyst, author and a licensed marital therapist in private practice in Berkeley, California. He is the author of two books on Jung’s concept of synchronicity - There Are No Accidents and There Are No Accidents in Love and Relationships - and a number of other books about Jung.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Three Things Robert Hopcke knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Read Robert Hopcke’s book There Are No Accidents: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives
Visit Robert Hopcke’s website
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jun 30, 2025
Monday Jun 30, 2025
Could changing the rhythm of your breath offer the breakthrough you’ve been looking for?
This week, Andrew talks to psychologist and breathwork expert Dr. Richard Blake—known as The Breath Geek—about the profound impact that conscious breathing can have on mental and physical health.
Together, Andrew and Richard discuss:
- How breathwork can reduce anxiety and support emotional healing
- A simple breathing exercise you can try right now
- Why working with the body is essential for mental wellbeing
- Differences between how men and women experience somatic therapies
Dr. Richard Blake holds a PhD in Psychology and is a leading expert in breathwork and functional breathing. A former Men’s Health Magazine fitness model, he combines cutting-edge science with holistic practices to help clients achieve mental clarity, resilience, and deeper self-awareness.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Biohacking: what is it and should we do it?
- Three Things Richard Blake knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Visit Richard Blake’s website
Follow Richard Blake on social media:
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jun 23, 2025
Monday Jun 23, 2025
Venus O’Hara plans to change the world, one orgasm at a time. She believes women are equally as sexual as men, and should have the time and space to embrace their multi-orgasmic potential.
Venus is a British orgasm activist, author and feminist based in Barcelona. She has a hugely popular YouTube channel on which she discusses the female orgasm and leading a healthy and authentic orgasmic lifestyle.
In this classic reissued episode, Venus and Andrew discuss many aspects of Venus’ journey, including her expertise in fetishism (which Venus sees as an intelligent, imaginative approach to sex, fascinating in its eroticisation of the non-sexual), and her career change from real estate sales to online businesswoman, writer and activist.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Three Things Venus O’Hara knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Watch videos on Venus O’Hara’s YouTube channel
Take a look at Venus O’Hara’s website.
Follow Venus on Instagram @venusohara
Read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
Read Andrew’s book Have the Sex You Want: A Couple’s Guide to Getting Back the Spark
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jun 16, 2025
Monday Jun 16, 2025
Can you criticise your partner without starting a flaming row, or causing them to retreat into a wounded silence? If not, you’re not alone. Many of us struggle for years to find a way to manage relationship conflict in an honest, constructive spirit.
This week, Andrew discusses the secrets of better conflict with relationship coach JACK BOHANNON. Andrew and Jack cover:
- Attachment theory and how it influences our capacity for constructive conflict.
- Better strategies for giving and receiving feedback.
- The healing power of men’s work.
- AND, Andrew participates in a role play exercise designed by Jack.
Jack Bohannan is a certified Somatica relationship coach. He helps clients overcome stuck relationship patterns, insecure attachment, and self-worth issues using somatic techniques. His work is experiential and involves role play, self-disclosure, and genuine conversation.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- How attachment theory can transform your relationship.
- Three Things Jack Bohannan knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Visit Jack Bohannan’s website
Read Jack Bohannan’s writing on Medium
Follow Jack Bohannan on Instagram
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jun 09, 2025
Monday Jun 09, 2025
So many of us have experienced depression, and if not, we’re likely to have seen people we love battle it.
In this week’s classic episode, author KATE LUCEY, who specialises in writing about mental health, talks candidly with Andrew about her own depression and the six-year journey she’s been on since her diagnosis: including physical symptoms and the effects on her personal relationships.
Kate and Andrew also take a deep dive into what depression means - what might cause it, how therapy can help, and some exercises that have helped Kate manage when feeling overwhelmed.
Kate Lucey is an author, journalist and public speaker, who has been at the forefront of opening up the conversation about mental health. Kate also specialises in helping brands talk to millennials. Her most recent book is Get a Grip, Love: and Other Helpful Mental Health Advice “a candid book that uses a mix of colloquial chat, peer and personal experience, and expert advice to talk about tackling mental illness as part of the generation so often poked fun at for having feelings – and who often call themselves out for it, too”.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Three Things Kate Lucey knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Read Kate Lucey’s book Get A Grip Love
Follow Kate Lucey on Twitter @KateLucey_
Read The Wisdom of Depression by Jonathan Zeuss.
Read Swamplands of the Soul by James Hollis.
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools.
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Jun 02, 2025
Monday Jun 02, 2025
Most of us dislike or even fear conflict with loved ones. Without it, however, you won't achieve sustained intimacy with your partner.
This week, Andrew talks to writer, psychologist and Jungian analyst Polly Young-Eisendrath, the author of Love Between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path. They explore the challenges and possibilities of building partnerships based on respect, freedom and real dialogue.
Andrew and Polly discuss:
- What “real dialogue” means—and how to practice mindful curiosity with your partner.
- How and why to stop avoiding conflict with your partner.
- Projective identification in relationships.
- What to do if you’re feeling defeated or distant in your relationship.
Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D., is the founder of the Center for Real Dialogue in Vermont and the author of 19 books. Her work combines psychoanalytic thinking, mindfulness, and Buddhism to illuminate the inner work required to love with both strength and humility. She is also the host of the popular podcasts Enemies: From War to Wisdom and Waking Up is Not Enough: Flourishing in the Human Space.
If You’re Looking for More…
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50: Join here
This week, supporters will hear:
⭐ The Benefits of a Conversation Between the Spiritual and Psychological
⭐ Three Things Polly Young-Eisendrath Knows to Be True
⭐️AND access to all our previous bonus content—a rich archive of insight and inspiration
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin: Learn more here
Read Polly Young-Eisendrath’s book Love Between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path
Visit Polly Young-Eisendrath’s website
Listen to Polly Young-Eisendrath’s podcasts:
Follow Polly Young-Eisendrath on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50: patreon.com/andrewgmarshall
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday May 26, 2025
Monday May 26, 2025
Are you one of the many people who end up shocked by the ultimate similarity of romantic relationships that felt very different starting out? Why is it that we find the same patterns repeating, the same problems coming up over and over?
In this classic episode, Andrew talks to author and attachment theory specialist Tara Blair-Ball. Tara explains how attachment theory - which is grounded in analysis of how we bonded to our mother as infants - can explain these patterns.
Andrew and Tara emphasise that rather than dwelling on the particular faults of partner A and partner B, we can try to understand how our earliest relationships in life have determined later ones. This will help us make the changes that can lead to more meaningful and more fulfilling relationships.
Tara Blair Ball is a Certified Relationship Coach, as well as the author of several books on love and relationships. Her content on relationship and dating has been viewed more than 6 million times.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Three Things Tara Blair Ball knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Tara Blair Ball’s website
Read Emerson Eggerichs’ book Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs
Read Gary Chapman’s book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday May 19, 2025
Monday May 19, 2025
What does it mean to be truly seen and accepted in your sexuality? For those who identify as bisexual—or who experience sexual fluidity—the path to self-understanding and relational honesty can be filled with challenges, uncertainty, and social stigma.
This week, Andrew talks with DIANE HASSALL, a Relationship and Psychosexual Psychotherapist, about how we explore and express our sexual identities within intimate partnerships. Together, they consider how to stay true to yourself, even when your sexuality doesn’t conform to the narrow definitions the culture has offered you.
Andrew and Diane discuss:
⭐ What bisexuality and sexual fluidity really mean
⭐ How to have honest conversations with your partner about identity and attraction
⭐ The importance of curiosity and compassion when exploring new facets of yourself
Diane Hassall is an Accredited Member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) and the founder of the therapy practice, Your Time to Talk. She specialises in working with clients exploring gender, sexual, erotic and relationship diversity, and also trains and supervises other therapists in psychosexual and relationship work.
If You’re Looking for More…
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week, supporters will hear:
⭐ The Importance of Sexual Fantasies
⭐ Three Things Diane Hassall Knows to Be True
⭐️AND access to all our previous bonus content—a rich archive of insight and inspiration.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin: Learn more here
Visit Diane Hassall’s therapy practice: yourtimetotalk.net
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday May 12, 2025
Monday May 12, 2025
How can we learn to be at ease in our bodies so that we can be fully “in the moment” during sex? Anxiety about body image is one of the biggest obstacles to a happy, fulfilled sex life. Many people seek therapy to help them relax and enjoy sex with their partner, others struggle on in low-sex or no-sex relationships.
In this classic episode, Andrew talks to KATE MOYLE, a psychosexual and relationship therapist, about the knots we tie ourselves up in over how we look. Our culture’s esteem for youth and beauty, (expressed in social media images of physical perfection) can make it very hard to inhabit our normal, imperfect bodies. Yet the self-confidence we need to enjoy sex is grounded in how we feel, not how we look.
As well as her work as a therapist, Kate Moyle is host of The Sexual Wellness Sessions Podcast, and also appeared on BBC Three’s Sex on the Couch. Kate helps people to work through challenges in their sex lives and relationships; moving towards a place of sexual health, happiness and wellbeing. Her podcast hosts discussions that focus on normalising sex and relationships talk, and tackling the topics that are often left out of mainstream conversation; and she is a regular media contributor on the topic of sex and relationships.
If You’re Looking for More….
You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
This week supporters will hear:
- Three Things Kate Moyle knows to be true.
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Attend Andrew's new men's retreat, Reconnect With Yourself, this autumn in the Brandenberg countryside near Berlin.
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Listen to Kate Moyle’s The Sexual Wellness Sessions Podcast
Take a look at Kate’s website
Follow Kate on Instagram @katemoyletherapy
Read Andrew’s book Have the Sex You Want: a Couple’s Guide to Getting the Spark Back
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools https://courses.andrewgmarshall.com/relationship-tools
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall