Los Angeles Therapist Yvonne Thomas, Ph.D. On How To Be A Good Friend When Your Friend Has Lost A Job (06/02/2022)

Los Angeles Therapist Dr. Yvonne Thomas PHD: “Being a good friend can include helping out a friend who is going through difficult times.  One of those tough times can be if your friend experiences a job loss”.

If your friend has lost his or her job, overall, you can be both an emotional and a practical support system.  You can be an emotional support system by letting your friend vent and express any emotions and upset as needed over what’s happened.  It’s important to listen to your friend without judgement so that your friend can feel more comfortable expressing oneself more openly and fully.

Also, you can give your friend a more accurate perspective since emotions may be clouding his or her judgment.  If applicable, remind your friend that the job loss was not due to poor work performance and not his or her fault to minimize unnecessary guilt, upset, or self-doubt towards oneself and one’s abilities.

In addition, you can assist your friend in practical ways to ease the transition to having no job by helping him or her sign up for unemployment, figure out what to do with the health insurance coverage, look online for other jobs, etc.  The bottom line in helping your friend who has lost a job is to empower him or her to regain perspective and control over one’s life as best as possible.

Working with a psychologist can be very beneficial for you as the provider of support or your friend who is requiring the support.  The psychologist can help in decreasing stress and teaching some healthy coping mechanisms during this challenging time for you and/or your friend.