Oprah and Experts: Setting Boundaries with Toxic Family Members

Oprah and Experts: Setting Boundaries with Toxic Family Members

From The Oprah Podcast by Harpo

February 17, 2026 · 59 min

About this episode

Oprah discusses family estrangement and coping strategies with experts and guests sharing personal stories.

The Oprah Podcast on estranged families going #NoContact reached more than five million viewers and listeners and sparked widespread conversation across social media and online opinion platforms. In this episode, Oprah addresses some of the alternative points of view raised on Social Media. She invites the experts back for a discussion exploring new questions and additional ways of coping with this painful and sensitive issue. After award winning journalist Jemele Hill saw the original episode, she was inspired to share with Oprah her own family estrangement story for the first time publicly. Oprah also speaks to a woman who cut off contact with her sister and a married couple seeking advice for repair with their estranged parents. BUY THE BOOKS! 'Rules of Estrangement' by Dr. Joshua Coleman: 'Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents' by Dr. Lindsay Gibson⁠: ⁠'The Balancing Act' by Nedra Glover Tawwab: 00:00:00 - Recap of No Contact 00:00:00 - Welcome Tania, critic of Oprah 00:08:20 - Oprah wants to know how to do better 00:12:30 - Welcome Dr. Joshua Coleman, Dr. Lindsay Gibson, Nedra Glover Tawwab 00:19:14 - Welcome Jemele Hill who is no contact with her father 00:28:18…

People in this episode

Host: Oprah Winfrey

Guests: Jemele Hill, Dr. Joshua Coleman, Dr. Lindsay Gibson, Nedra Glover Tawwab

Topics covered

  • family estrangement
  • toxic relationships
  • mental health
  • boundaries
  • reconciliation
  • therapy

Keywords

  • estrangement
  • toxic family
  • boundaries
  • mental health
  • therapy
  • reconciliation
  • social media

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rules of Estrangement, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, The Balancing Act, Uphill

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