Episode 312: Breakup on Purpose with The Angry Therapist, John Kim, LMFT
The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast
Kate Anthony
4.4 • 573 Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John Kim, aka The Angry Therapist, joins me to chat about his new book, Breakup on Purpose: A Catalyst for Growth. A bestselling author, well-known for his raw, no-nonsense approach to self-help, John keeps it real by practicing full authenticity and transparency.
In this episode, he challenges us to rethink breakups. No one really talks about the different kinds of breakups, but John breaks them down into eight distinct types and explains how understanding which one you're going through can be a total game-changer.
We dive into how this framework can help you process your experience, focus your healing, and even turn your breakup into an opportunity for growth.
You'll also hear:
- Why understanding your specific breakup type can help you prioritize healing (4:55)
- John goes through all eight breakup types and explains the different responses they may create (6:07)
- How healing from divorce is different from other breakups (37:15)
Learn more about John Kim: John Kim, LMFT is a bestselling author with a new book out called: BREAK UP ON PURPOSE: A Catalyst for Growth. Kim blogs as The Angry Therapist, and practices complete authenticity and transparency with his many clients. He is also the bestselling author of: "It's Not Me, It's You;" "Single. On Purpose," and "I Used to be a Miserable F*ck."
Resources & Links:
Unbreakable – the Divorce Recovery Retreat, Sedona, AZ in April 2025
Submit your questions here for possible inclusion in future Q&A podcast episodes
Focused Strategy Sessions with Kate
Phoenix Rising: A Divorce Empowerment Collective
===================
DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, COACH, OR THERAPIST IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR ISSUE OR PROBLEM.
Episode Link:
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | When clients ask me if I should get back together with someone, I always ask what's going to be different this time? |
| 0:05.7 | If there's no secondary change, if people aren't coming back to the table different internally, like if you're just coming back with a new haircut or abs, the plane is going to go down again. |
| 0:15.3 | So you have to change the relationship dynamic. And in order to change that dynamic, people have to change. |
| 0:21.2 | There has to be new tools and awareness. And people have to have gone somewhere and come back |
| 0:25.7 | internally. |
| 0:30.2 | Welcome to the Divorce Survival Guide podcast, where we have open and honest conversations about |
| 0:36.8 | co-parenting, separation, divorce, and the hardest |
| 0:40.3 | question of all, should you stay or should you go? I'm Kate Anthony, your divorce survival guide, |
| 0:47.3 | and I'm here to help you navigate some of the roughest waters you've ever swum in and answer some of your |
| 0:53.4 | toughest questions. I've been to hell |
| 0:55.9 | and back. And now it's my mission in life to help you get to the other side of this process |
| 1:01.6 | with your sanity and your heart intact. Hey everyone. Welcome back. All right. So today I have with me, John Kim. You might know him as |
| 1:17.2 | the angry therapist on the social medias. And he's joining me today to talk about his new book, |
| 1:24.3 | Breakup on Purpose, a catalyst for growth. John essentially has identified eight |
| 1:31.0 | distinct types of breakup. In his book, and in this episode, he explains how understanding which |
| 1:38.0 | one you're going through can be a game changer and a catalyst for your growth. It's really cool stuff. The thing you should |
| 1:47.0 | also know is that John is life partners with Vanessa Bennett, who's been on the show a few times. |
| 1:54.4 | We have done episodes on codependence, and we have really great sort of rousing conversations |
| 2:00.1 | about codependence together. And if you |
| 2:02.8 | haven't heard those episodes, you should definitely go back. We also had Vanessa on the show to talk |
| 2:08.5 | about the book that she co-authored with John called It's Not Me, It's You. John is a member of the |
| 2:16.2 | Divorce Survival Guide family along with Vanessa, and this is a really cool conversation. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kate Anthony, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Kate Anthony and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.