Free Therapy with Ben & Kevin
Two best friends sit down with a different expert therapist every week to tackle the issues men usually avoid discussing—dating, relationships, modern masculinity, career, purpose, family, and self-worth. They aim to redefine what it means to be a strong, loving, successful, empathetic, and masculine man in today's world, pushing back against the typical manosphere playbook. Though they admit they're not experts, they're curious, slightly unhinged guys who can usually label their feelings. The podcast encourages listeners to follow along on Instagram and TikTok for more.
Episodes
Robin Williams' son, Zak Williams, on healing after loss #24
This week is about the journey to healing, not the moment you lose someone, but everything it actually takes to rebuild after. Our guest is Zak Williams, mental health advocate, founder of the wellness brand Pym, and the son of Robin Williams. He's been in therapy since he was a small child, and that lifelong relationship with it is part of what's made him such a vocal advocate for men actually ge
Can psychedelic therapy help you heal? #23
This week we explore psychedelic therapy with Dr. Nick Brüss, whether it can help you heal, what people misunderstand about it, and why the experience itself is only part of the work. Dr. Nick Bruss is a therapist and researcher who has spent over a decade working in psychedelic-assisted therapy and Internal Family Systems (parts work). We talk about its potential to help people struggling wi
The truth about OCD and intrusive thoughts #22
This week is about OCD, what it actually is, why it's so widely misunderstood, and how it can look nothing like what you'd expect. Allegra Kastens is a licensed therapist here in LA who specializes in OCD, and this is the most in-depth conversation we've had on the topic. She breaks down the real difference between an intrusive thought and a compulsion, and makes the case that fighting or suppress
Why men feel so misunderstood right now | Dr. Shefali #21
This week, we sit down with New York Times bestselling author and clinical psychologist Dr. Shefali to talk about why men feel so misunderstood and what we’re getting wrong about masculinity. We explore the pressures men face, how the way we raise boys shapes their relationships, and what it takes for men and women to better understand each other. It’s an honest, hopeful conversation a
How confident men show up in relationships | Aliza Shapiro #20
This week is about what actually makes a man attractive today, why vulnerability is the real glue in any relationship, and how to stop taking your partner's feedback as criticism. Aliza Shapiro is the therapist behind @therapist_in_nyc, and she has an incredible read on how relationships actually work right now. She breaks down the three traits women consistently find magnetic, and makes the case
How to stop repeating the same patterns | Kati Morton #18
This week is about inner-child work, the patterns we carry from childhood, and how our past can continue to shape the way we think, feel, and behave as adults. Our guest is Kati Morton, a licensed therapist, author, and educator who has millions of followers online. She joins us to break down what inner-child work actually means, why certain patterns can be so difficult to change, and how understa
My experience at grief camp for kids | Bonus Episode #19
For this special bonus episode, Ben shares his experience volunteering at Experience Camps, a free nonprofit camp for kids ages 9–18 who have lost someone they love. After spending a week alongside these kids, Ben talks with Kevin about what he learned about grief, healing, connection, and finding joy even in the middle of loss. To learn more visit www.experiencecamps.com See omnystudi
What makes a relationship truly work | Ben's mom #17
This week is about relationships, how to know if someone is actually right for you, and whether you're being too picky or holding out for what you really want. Our guest is Beverly Teller, Ben's mom, a longtime therapist, and one of the most requested guests we've had on the show. She's also been giving Kevin “free therapy” around the dinner table for years. We get into what makes a re
A tool to help you heal from your trauma #16
This week is about what happens when you finally stop trying to be okay with what happened to you. Ben sits down with his former therapist, Jessica Serber, who helped him work through years of grief and anger after surviving cancer three times before the age of 24. For a long time, Ben thought healing meant moving on, staying positive, and building a life that had nothing to do with cancer. What h
How to stop comparing yourself to others #15
This week, Sandra Kushnir is talking about values, why living out of sync with them quietly chips away at your self-esteem, and how to figure out what yours even are. Our guest is Sandra Kushnir, LMFT, a therapist and the founder of Meridian Counseling, and she gets into where values actually come from, why they matter so much for your mental health, and how to find yours underneath all the noise
What women actually want in bed, from a sex expert #14
This week's episode is about sex, women's biggest complaints about men in the bedroom and what men get wrong about sex. Rachel Overvoll is a sex expert trained at the Kinsey Institute, and this was on of our most fun episodes we've recorded yet. We get into the biggest turn-offs women won't say to your face, what pleasure means for two people, and why guys have it all wrong in the bedr
Why men can't make friends anymore #13
This week's episode is about male friendships, why it's so hard for guys to make real friends as adults, and why men opening up to each other is so tough. Our guest is Seth Menachem, a therapist here in LA who runs the Menachem Psychotherapy Group. By the time we were done, we felt like we had made a new best friend. We went deep into into why so many men are lonelier than ever and one small move
The quotes that got us through the hardest years of our lives #12
When times are hard, we look for wisdom to get us through those moments. Whether it's an author, a poet, or a world leader, there are lifetimes of experience we can look back on to find a little solace. This week, no therapist, just Ben & Kevin sitting down to share the wisdom that feels like therapy to them. The quotes, the mantras, and the lines they come back to when everything feels like t
How to manage anxiety and ruminate less #11
This week is about anxiety and rumination, and why trying to get rid of your anxiety is exactly what keeps it going. Kimberley Quinlan is an amazing therapist who specializes in anxiety and rumination. In this episode she gets into why a thought is not a fact, why avoidance quietly shrinks your entire life, and what she actually does at 3am when her brain won't turn off. It is not what you'd expec
How to stop being a people pleaser #10
Our guest this week is my former therapist, Koorosh Rassekh! We talk about where people-pleasing actually comes from, why it isn't a flaw you need to fix but something that once kept you safe, and the techniques that actually make hard conversations easier. For most of my life I thought keeping the peace made me a better friend, partner, and person. I'd suppress my needs, avoid the conversations I
Why relationships trigger anxiety and avoidance #9
This week is about attachment styles and how to rewrite the one you grew up with. Someone takes three hours to text back and you start spiraling. Or things finally start to get good and you start pulling away for absolutely no reason. It isn't random and it isn't a character flaw. It's your attachment style, and most of us were never taught we had one. Today, we sit down with German psychologist J
The grief advice nobody gives you #8
Someone you love is grieving and you have no idea what to say. So you say nothing, and that's the one thing you shouldn't do. Grief therapist and author Claire Bidwell Smith has sat with thousands of people through loss and written five books on grief. With Father's Day approaching, Ben opens up about losing his dad Mickey three years ago. Claire breaks down how to actually show up for someone who
Performance anxiety and feeling like less of a man #7
Every guy is carrying a list of things he'd never say out loud. How often he's embarrassed in bed. What makes him feel like less of a man. The stuff he pretends to have figured out and absolutely doesn't. This week there's no therapist. Just Ben and Kevin. Their producer handed them the questions most men would lie about and dared them to answer honestly. They get into performance anxiety and the
What society gets wrong about happiness #6
You did everything you were supposed to do. The job, the friends, the life. So why does something still feel off? Happiness expert Dr. Danielle Taillieu explains why chasing happiness might be the exact thing keeping you from it. We get into the feelings you were never allowed to have, why you can be surrounded by people and still beat yourself up the second you're alone, the comparison trap that
Stop letting social media diagnose you #5
This week we sit down with therapist Leah Miller to talk about the TikTok-ification of mental health and why it might be doing more harm than good. The pendulum has swung. Mental health is finally mainstream, which is great, except now everyone is self-diagnosing from 30-second videos and walking away convinced something is deeply wrong with them. We get into the words that are suddenly everywhere
What women are actually desperate for from men #4
Most men are walking around with a totally wrong idea of what women actually want. Height, money, abs. Turns out the bar is somewhere else entirely. The rules have quietly shifted in a way a lot of guys haven't caught up to yet. This week we sit down with Dr. Sarah Oreck, a psychiatrist who treats mostly women and has a front row seat to what they're actually dealing with in dating, relationships,
Why is dating so difficult? #3
Dating is hard. But when you have your life together, somehow, it gets harder. Therapist Dani Lewin explains why, and what to actually do about it. She gets into why dating gets more complicated the older and more established you become, what your checklist is actually telling you, and how to rethink what "settling" really means. We also talk about non-negotiables, the ick, and what women actually
Why your family triggers you #2
In this episode, we dig into family dynamics and why the people closest to us are the ones who trigger us the most. Therapist Alexa Silvaggio explains what's really going on, and how to start breaking out of those cycles. She uses parts work, or Internal Family Systems (IFS), to help you meet the younger versions of yourself that are still quietly running your adult life. We get into people-pleasi
The World Needs Free Therapy (meet Ben and Kevin) #1
Introducing Free Therapy. We're Ben and Kevin. Best friends of 15 years. Every week, we sit down with a different expert therapist to unpack the stuff most guys struggle with but nobody says out loud. Dating. Relationships. Modern masculinity. Career and purpose. Family. Self-worth. We're going to uncover what it looks like to be a strong, loving, successful, empathetic, and masculine man in
Introducing: Free Therapy with Ben & Kevin
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Recommended
The Bread and Banter Podcast
The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament
Busted Open
Deadline: White House
Crickets Corner
History of the Earthquake and Fire in San Francisco
Fox news
K-Drama Obsessed Mamas | Beyond “Just One More Episode!”
True Crime Classics
The Healer Revolution
Becoming: HER with Nikki Spoelstra
Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton
