Our Vision
Imagine a world where everyone has at least three '2am friends'—people we can talk to, depend on, grow with, and enjoy life with; people we can call at 2am when everything has gone wrong. At Friendship Lab, we believe this vision can become a reality.
Our Mission
Friendship Lab empowers adults with the wisdom and skills to make their friendships thrive. Through evidence-based courses, inspiring media projects and actionable research, we aim to address two of society’s most pressing crises: escalating loneliness and decreasing mental health.
Why It Matters
Friendship is essential to our happiness and wellbeing, yet more than 20% of us have no close friends. At some stage you and I will be part of this 20% just by moving cities for work or having our friends move away. Loneliness rates are at epidemic levels, and 51% of us find making new friends hard.
Research shows that people with close friendships have lower levels of anxiety and depression, increased levels of meaning and happiness, and even longer lifespans. And yet there is currently no non-profit organisation focussed on adult friendship - a travesty given its wellbeing benefits.
(The Friendship Lab team)
Our Solution: The Friendship Lab Course
No one teaches us how to make and maintain friendships - until now.
Over the last three years we have been developing a 6-session evidence-based friendship skills course. Last year we piloted this course with 80 participants in four countries, and Dr Amanda Berlan from the University of Leicester assessing its impact. The results were significant.
As a result of the course, participants:
- Became more intentional at friendship building, using our tools to form new friendships and take the friendships they had closer.
- Became more relationally resilient, dealing with friendship problems like a lack of mutuality, and employing conflict resolution skills.
- Saw their self-esteem, social confidence and well-being increase, and more.
We now need to take this course to the world.
Through this crowdfunding campaign, you will be funding the filming of this course and the official launch of the charity in February 2025. Your donation will help release the Friendship Lab Course in three formats:
- An On-Demand video-based course available 24/7 for self-paced learning.
- A Live-Online course run several times each year in multiple time zones.
- A Small Group curriculum for churches and community groups (launching later in 2025 after further testing).
The Impact of Your Support
Your donation will directly support our mission to reduce loneliness and improve mental health through better friendships. With your help we will:
- Film and produce our Friendship Lab Course: Our core offering already proven to bring change.
- Launch publicly in February 2025: Years in the making, we can’t wait to bring our solutions to the world!
- Reduce Friendlessness: We want to see adult friendlessness rates decrease from over 20% to under 15% by 2034 through our courses, thought leadership, and research.
- Create a friendship revolution: With all the well-being benefits such a movement will bring.
Depending on the amount you choose to give, your donation won’t only finance our work at a critical time but give you access to our courses when they're released - truly a win-win!
Why Now?
With continual headlines of ‘friendship recessions’ and ‘loneliness crises’, the need for strong, meaningful friendships has never been more urgent. Loneliness and friendlessness are rising, but together we can make a difference. By supporting Friendship Lab, you are contributing to a solution that empowers individuals to build lasting, impactful friendships.
(Over 80 participants in four countries took part in our pilot courses)
Testimonials
“I had been on the tipping point of completely giving up on friendship. This course gave me the courage to engage again.”
“I‘ve never heard anyone talk about how to address a lack of reciprocity in friendships. That was the most helpful session for me.”
“Friendship Lab helped me gain a clearer understanding of what friendship is, how it operates, and helped me grow in courage and confidence to move towards others.”
“The 5 stages of friendship was a really helpful framework. Understanding how much time it takes to move an acquaintance to a casual friendship alone was eye-opening.”
“As someone who can be introverted, the course gave me so many strategies to be more proactive in developing friendships, plus the confidence to do them.”
“Friendship Lab helped me rekindle a lapsed friendship, which I’m now really enjoying again, and fast-tracked some peripheral friendships which are now growing close.”
“I feel Friendship Lab will play a critical part in the global struggle against loneliness.”
Donate Now
Your contribution will change lives. Join us in building a world where everyone has '2am friends'. Together, we can tackle loneliness and improve mental health through the power of friendship.
If you're a UK tax payer please tick the GiftAid box! It increases your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sheridan Voysey
Founder, Friendship Lab
Key Statistics*
- Over 20% of British adults lack close friends
- Over 20% of Australian adults have ‘no one to talk to or turn to’
- Friendlessness among American adults has quadrupled since 1990
- People with close friendships have lower levels of anxiety and depression
- Friendship can increase lifespan by up to seven years.
For more information visit www.friendshiplab.org.
Together, let's make our friendships thrive! 🌟❤️ #FriendshipLab
*Sources
Dinic, M. (2021): ‘YouGov Friendship Study Part One: Close friends and broad group of friends’, YouGov. Cox, Daniel A. (2021) ‘The State of American Friendship’, Survey Center on American Life, June 8, 2021. Dunbar, R. (2021): Friends. London: Little, Brown; Cruwys, T. et al (2013): ‘Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse’, Social Science and Medicine, volume 98, pages 179-186; Holt-Lunstad, J. et al (2010): ‘Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review’, PLOS Medicine.