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Marco is a man stuck in the middle of his parents' marriage. A few weeks ago, his dad admitted to an emotional affair: constant texting, sharing personal things, and imagining a different life together. Then he asked Marco not to tell his mom. Now Marco feels sick every time he sees her. On this Therapy Thursday, licensed therapist Sarah Dash explains why this is a textbook "loyalty bind." She shows how his dad's emotional needs became Marco's burden through triangulation and parentification. She also explains why the best move might be turning the triangle into a straight line. Plus, the hosts debate a tough question: would you rather find out about an emotional affair or a one-time physical one? Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lauren loves her job as a nurse at a large hospital, and everyone loves the hospital's charismatic chief surgeon. But he's been having affairs at work, lots of them. It was just a rumor until Lauren walked past the scrub room and saw him making out with a new nurse. Now she knows his wife and kids, and she feels she has to say something. Should she tell his wife? Or does she stay out of a marriage she knows nothing about? Licensed therapist Sarah Dash joins Ellen and Ryan to help Lauren with this. They talk about cognitive dissonance, why it's so hard to live with not knowing, and the difference between knowing something and being responsible for it. They also cover surgeon egos, "keep your eyes on your own paper," and whether it's worth risking the job she loves.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amelia went to have some drinks with some friends and at the end of the night, her friend's husband, Tony, leaned in and tried to kiss her. She obviously rejected the advance and Tony asked her to keep it from his wife because this would ruin his marriage. Amelia is put in a tight spot, because on one hand, she doesn't want to ruin her friend's marriage, but on the other, she doesn't want to keep a secret like this from her friend. She calls Therapy Thursday, and the crew helps give her some advice on what to do. They try to help her see it from her friends' perspective and ask the difficult question of "would this be a dealbreaker for you". Find out how this goes and so much more on this week's Therapy Thursday!  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hugo's father and mother had recently gotten a divorce and his dad has gone back to dating. He's been dating a number of women, but he's been dating his current girlfriend for about three months. After such a short time, they're planning on getting married and are not going to get a prenup. Hugo was even asked to be the best man but he's not sure about this marriage. He calls into the show to ask what he should do. Should he be the best man and support his father? Or should he air out his fears of this relationship? Ellen, Sarah, and Ryan talk about this and so much more on this episode of Therapy Thursday!  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carlos is dating a woman who has a daughter. He gets along so well with her that he considers her his daughter too. He's also very close to the daughter's biological father. They spend a lot of time together and consider each other brothers even if they're not related. Because Carlos is so close to his wife's daughter, he got a tattoo of her. Since he has so many tattoos, he didn't think anything of it. The problem is that since his tattoo, the girl's biological father has iced him out. He doesn't want to hang out anymore and is acting very cold towards Carlos. Sarah, Ellen, and Ryan help him understand things from the other father's perspective. They explain how something like this can seem bigger to someone else even if it's not a big deal for him. They also go through what Carlos can do to make ammends with his friend.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Baldwin joins the show again! He talks about his career and what makes his relationship work. The crew then take a call from Jethro who is having trouble dating. He says that he has these standards for women and he feels like nobody can match them. Ellen, Ryan, Sarah and Stephen walk him through how he should be framing these first dates in his head to allow room for growth and open him up to more possibilities in the dating field. Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Ellen, Sarah, and Ryan are joined by legendary actor Stephen Baldwin! Stephen talks about his career, his podcast One Bad Movie, and tips for how he's been married for 36 years! They then take a call from Lulu who is recently married to a man who's almost 20 years older than her. The real problem is that her new husband's son has been flirting with her. He's only 3 years younger and she finds herself a bit attracted to him. Ellen, Sarah, Ryan, and Stephen explain that attraction is natural but it's what you do with that attraction that matters. They also giver her ideas on next steps and how to avoid crossing a line with her son-in-law.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary called into the show in distress about something on her husband's credit card. Her cousin was having a birthday party and her husband said that he was suffering from a severe migraine. Mary thought nothing of it and let him stay home and rest. Fast forward a few weeks, and she's going through her statement and noticed a mysterious charge on his credit card. After some investigating, she discovered that on the night her husband "had a migraine" he had booked a night in a hotel room and bought room service for two. With how suspicious this looks, Ellen, Sarah, and Ryan help Mary contextualize what the hotel charge could mean, how to communicate with her husband, and what to do if her worst fears are realized. Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monica is a mother who is taking time for herself for the first time in her life. She says that she's declining some family dinner invitations, taking mornings to go to yoga, and spending a day in a nearby hotel to rest and recharge. Her husband is mostly supportive of her taking time to herself and recharging is making her a better mom. However, she's been getting some judgement from her sister and her mom. They both say that a mother shouldn't need a break and Monica doesn't know how to respond. Ellen, Sarah, and Ryan help Monica understand her own feelings and need for a break, how she can make sure her husband is able to recharge, and what responses she can use when she feels judged by her sister and mother.   Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David recently took a sick day from work. The thing is, he wasn't actually sick. David had been feeling burnt out and took a day to go out on a hike, spend some time in nature, and completely unplug from staring at screens all day. When he came back, everyone asked David how he was feeling, which led to him feeling guilt over lying about being sick. Ellen, Ryan, and Sarah help David by explaining that it's ok to take a day off and that mental health is just as important as physical health and that taking care of both can actually make you more productive at your job.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first part of a two part interview, legendary actor Billy Zane joins Sarah and Ellen on the show! They talk about everything from gender norms and expectations to Billy's art and love of life. They even go into whether Cal or Jack was the right choice in Titanic. Check out the episode for all of this and so much more! Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second part of a two-part interview, legendary actor, Billy Zane joins Sarah and Ellen for Therapy Thursday! He talks about his method for portraying Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando, Brando's activism and love of life, who was harder to embody: Marlon Brando or The Phantom, and his perspective on the movie Orlando. Listen to this episode for all of this and so much more! Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Portia is a concierge at her job and has been having an affair with her boss for the past 6 months. She's falling in love with him, but he's married with a kid. He's said, that his marriage is failing and basically over, but hasn't made any real steps in actually ending it with his wife. Portia is stuck between her feelings for her boss and the guilt of knowing that she is one part of a marital affair. Ellen, Ryan, and Sarah try to help Portia understand where she stands in this relationship and what she should do moving forward.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Enrico has a business conference in Las Vegas which would really help his career. His wife was onboard until she found out that his ex was going to be at that same conference. Even when nothing has happened between the two in years, Enrico's wife is asking him to stay in a different hotel. Neither Enrico or his wife have had trust issues before so this seems to come out of nowhere. Ellen, Ryan, and Sarah try to get to the bottom of her distrust and solutions that can make both of them happy.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francis is dating a successful guy who seems to love her. There's just one problem: she thinks he's lovebombing her. She wants to take things slower while he keeps making plans for the future. Ellen, Ryan, and Sarah help walk her through and determine if she is being lovebombed, and what to make of this relationship.  Angel has been married for 8 years, but recently he's grown closer to a woman from work, Stephanie. What started as harmless flirtatious joking at work has grown into something more. They text outside of work hours while the flirting has gotten more intense. He's planning on going to a work lunch without telling his wife. The crew explains to him when flirting crosses the line into an emotional affair and how things can continue to spin out of control.  Follow Therapy Thursday on YouTube Follow Ellen Follow Sarah See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.