About Us.
Welcome to Friendship Lab.
Our Mission.
"Who can you call at 2am when everything has gone wrong?" That was the question that jolted Friendship Lab founder Sheridan Voysey out of his own relational complacency years ago. Little did he know it would help catalyse the first non-profit organisation dedicated to adult friendship.
Our mission is to empower adults with the wisdom and skills to make their friendships thrive and our dream is to see every adult have at least three '2am friends'. If you're looking for deeper connections, you're in the right place. Come and join us.
We Need a Friendship Revolution.
Adult friendship is our most overlooked relationship and its neglect is causing a wellbeing crisis. But together, we can change that.
In the UK, US, Australia and beyond, more than 20% of us have no close friends, 51% of us find making new friends hard, and 40% of us want to get closer to our friends but don't know how. Why is adult friendship so hard?
Busyness and smart phone isolation play a part. But a greater reason is neglect. Friend-making is a skill no one teaches us, and popular culture typically ignores friendship for romance. It's time to get intentional about this foundational bond. Research shows that those who do are in a better place to have:
Lower anxiety and depression
Greater meaning and joy
Reduced risk of heart disease
Stronger marriages
Even seven years longer lifespans!
Watch Our TEDx Talk.
Friendship Lab founder Sheridan Voysey's inspiring vision for a friendship revolution.
Our Story.
Friendship Lab began in 2019, when Sheridan Voysey began research to write a book on adult friendship. Then a series of events moved the project to become so much more.
The first event was when BBC Radio 2 made Sheridan Creative Lead of its Friendship Season, touching 13 million listeners, and the second was a small article he wrote for The Times. The response to both proved that the need for friendship guidance was great and more than a book was needed to address the problem.
Drawing on his social science research and enlisting the help of other professionals, Sheridan turned his focus to creating an evidence-based course, which was piloted in April-May 2023 with 80 participants in four countries and Dr Amanda Berlan from the University of Leicester assessing its impact. The results were significant, with participants not only seeing their friendships transformed but increases in their social confidence, self esteem, and other wellbeing measures.
Today we're rolling out the Friendship Lab Course in multiple formats to individuals and organisations, to see a friendship revolution counter the world's loneliness crisis.
What We Do.
Courses and Training
We provide empowering, evidence-based courses and training to individuals, groups and workplaces that help adults make their friendships thrive.
Media and Speaking
We provide thought leadership to the media and at conferences, championing adult friendship and offering solutions to the loneliness crisis.
Research
We contribute to the public conversation by collaborating on original research and making secondary research accessible and actionable.
Meet the Team.
Sheridan Voysey
Founder & CEO
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Gemma Hunt
Course Co-Host
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Lois Fulton
Trustees Chair & Strategy Lead
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Denise Morgan
Finance Manager
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Dr Simon Jackman
Trustee & Partnerships Lead
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Deb Daniel
Writer
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Catherine Healey
Trustee & Fundraising Lead
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James Burke
Media & Communications Lead
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Dot Powell
Community & Learning Lead
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Sian Woodward
Media & Communications Assistant
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Dan Petrie
Community Coach
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Board of Reference
Ben Dodd, Director, Risen Consulting
Sophie Duncan, Co-Director, National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement
Dr. Carol Brown, Sen. Lecturer in Psychology & Education, Oxford Brookes University
David McIlroy, Barrister at law, Forum Chambers
Prof. Merryn Voysey, Professor of Statistics, University of Oxford
Our Distinctives.
We are Relational
We seek to embody the friendship principles we teach, welcoming all in a spirit of hospitality, listening well, being dependable in our commitments, helping others to grow, and fostering joy in all we do.
We are Credible
We are evidence-based, drawing on quality social science. And we are wisdom-shaped, mining insights from the arts, philosophy, and theology. Planted in the rich soil of our Christian ethos, we stay congruent with this grounding while serving those of all faiths and none.
We Are Empowering
While other excellent organisations help the community move towards the individual, we empower the individual to move towards the world. We work to de-stigmatise loneliness (recognising it affects us all), promote learning through action, and provide our courses at price points accessible to all.
Subscribe for FREE Friendship Tools.
Friendship Lab is an exciting new project to make your friendships thrive. Stay up to date with its progress by joining our Better Friendships newsletter. Your first email will contain two of our most impactful tools, From Small Talk to Big Talk and the Friendship Audit tool to map your current relationships.
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Friendship Lab is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England. Registration number 1206905.
