The Delve Podcast

Delve Psych
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The Delve Podcast is dedicated to exploring deeper approaches to mental wellness and the craft of psychotherapy.

  1. 5D AGO

    Working With an Intern Therapist: What It Means and Why It Can Be Great

    ====Media Links====website: delvepsych.cominstagram: @delvepsychchicagoyoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/ ====Participants==== Ali McGarel Adam W. Fominaya ====Overview of Big Ideas==== "Intern" can mean anything from brand-new to someone with hundreds of clinical hours who just has not graduated or licensed yet. Intern therapy is closer to an apprenticeship model: active learning, close oversight, and structured growth. Good training hinges on supervision. At minimum, interns should receive weekly, licensed supervision; many also receive school-based group supervision. Delve describes an intentionally high-support model: multiple supervision layers plus didactics and live-learning opportunities. The main downside is pacing: newer interns may need more time to think, consult, and return with answers. The upside is intensity of care and follow-through. Cost can be a major advantage: intern slots often come with sliding scale, and sometimes pro bono options. Fresh minds matter: early-career clinicians may bring novel perspectives and intellectual risk-taking that more seasoned therapists can lose. The hosts critique broken incentives in training: quality supervision is time-expensive, often financially unrewarded, and can be mishandled in lower-support sites. They also discuss a recently passed Illinois insurance change they worked on, aiming to reduce barriers to reimbursing student-provided care under certain state-regulated plans. ====Breakdown of Segments==== Why "intern therapist" is a confusing label: hours of experience vary wildly, and licensing status can mislead clients. How supervision actually works: individual supervision, school group supervision, and (at Delve) additional layers of consultation and teaching. The economics and ethics of training: why some sites under-supervise, and why that is a clinical and moral problem. Why Delve trains anyway: a values-driven "passion project" model, even when it is not profitable. What it feels like to start at zero: fear, learning-by-doing, and why patience early in the year can pay off. The intern advantage: high motivation, smaller caseloads, deeper week-to-week reflection, and willingness to say "let me think and bring this back." Avoiding burnout and staying present: the focus demands of therapy, and practical tricks for maintaining attention. Closing encouragement: do not discount younger clinicians; once confidence and humility balance, they can "start cooking." Coda quote: "Avoidance of an inevitability is futile" as a nudge toward action over delay. ====AI Recommended References (APA)==== American Psychological Association. (2015). Guidelines for clinical supervision in health service psychology. American Psychologist, 70(1), 33-46. Bernard, J. M., & Goodyear, R. K. (2018). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (6th ed.). Pearson. Borders, L. D., & Brown, L. L. (2005). The new handbook of counseling supervision. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2004). Clinical supervision: A competency-based approach. American Psychological Association. Milne, D. (2009). Evidence-based clinical supervision: Principles and practice. BPS Blackwell.

    35 min

  2. FEB 8

    Don’t Text Your Depressed Friends “How Are You Feeling Today?”

    --Media Links-- website: delvepsych.com instagram: @delvepsychchicago youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20⁠ substack: ⁠https://delvepsych.substack.com/⁠ --Participants-- Ali McGarel Adam W. Fominaya --Overview of Big Ideas-- A well-meant “How are you feeling today?” can inadvertently become a demand for improvement, loading guilt onto someone who already feels wretched. The urge to rescue often curdles into frustration: we hate witnessing suffering, so we try to solve it—and then resent the person when they don’t “get better.” Advice (“go for a walk,” “try a run”) is usually not novel; it can amplify shame by implying the depressed person is simply failing to do the obvious. A more humane stance is presence without coercion: stop trying to fix, keep trying to care. Support can be instrumental (doing practical tasks) or emotional (staying close, receptive, and steady). Sometimes the most restorative help is non-topical connection—rejoining a friend in ordinary togetherness that reawakens identity and belonging. The episode problematizes tidy, authoritative definitions of “depression,” arguing for humility: clinical models, lay language, and alternative framings can coexist without credential-policing. --Breakdown of Segments-- Cold open and Delve updates: invite word-of-mouth sharing, reflect on writing barriers, and describe a “small-chunks” approach to blog content (and a future book-shaped compilation). The viral prompt: react to Matias James Barker’s “don’t text your depressed friends” critique; unpack how check-ins can become reassurance-seeking for the helper. The advice trap and shame spiral: why suggestions rarely help; reframing “ideas” as curiosity about reasoning; how pushing solutions can externalize and intensify shame. Low-lift invitations: concrete companionship (movie, s’mores, showing up) that reduces decision-fatigue while preserving the right to decline. Togetherness as medicine: instrumental vs emotional support; why being-with can heal more than problem-solving; bookshelf anecdote as memorable care. Limits and self-care for supporters: intentionality, choosing one’s effort, and not extending beyond capacity. What is “depression,” anyway?: critique of false consensus; respect for plural definitions; perils of ad hominem credential attacks. Closing reflections: admiration, fallibility, and the gap between intellectualizing solutions and actually living them. --AI Recommended References (APA)-- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Publishing. Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford Press. Hari, J. (2018). Lost connections: Uncovering the real causes of depression—and the unexpected solutions. Bloomsbury Publishing.

    31 min

  3. FEB 1

    Internal Working Models: The Quiet Rules We Learn About Self, Others, and the World

    MEDIA LINKS Website: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/ HostsAli McGarelAdam W. Fominaya OVERVIEW OF BIG IDEASAli and Adam unpack the “internal working model” as a mental blueprint: the mostly-implicit rulebook we carry about who we are, what other people are like, and what the world tends to do to us. They emphasize generalization. A painful early event rarely stays “one-to-one” (not just “chihuahuas are dangerous”), but expands into broader assumptions (“dogs are dangerous,” “animals can’t be trusted,” “the world is unsafe”). They highlight a clinical nuance: the same childhood context can yield divergent lessons. Two siblings can walk out of the same house with different narratives because the organism is always constructing meaning, not merely recording events. A practical triad becomes the organizing frame: how I see myself, how I see others, how I see the world. The episode shows how one early motif (e.g., “I’m helpless” or “I’m a burden”) can shape adulthood across medical situations, home repairs, and intimate relationships—either through clinging dependence or rigid self-reliance. They also point to “competing beliefs” and split paths: “I’m a burden” can coexist with “I must take care of everyone else,” producing the familiar pattern of over-giving and under-receiving. Finally, they bring it into the therapy room: many “confusing” behaviors make sense once you locate the old organizing principle that once protected the person. The question becomes: did it work then, and is it helping now? BREAKDOWN OF SEGMENTSOpening and Delve reminders (services, consultation, and sharing the show). Defining internal working models and why they’re bigger than single-event triggers. Generalization in action: the chihuahua example expands into world-level beliefs. Self-beliefs: childhood illness as a seed for “helpless/dependent” or “burden,” then traced through adult stressors (health, household tasks, attachment needs). Other-beliefs: the scraped-knee vignette (“people aren’t responsive”) and how it becomes mistrust, refusal of help, or even feeling insulted by care. World-beliefs: “the world is unfair/dangerous,” illustrated through guarded reactions to billing and assumptions about how businesses operate. Closing reflections on stillness: why silence is hard, and how waiting in the uncomfortable middle can sometimes let the situation clarify rather than forcing a rushed, anxiety-driven decision. AI RECOMMENDED REFERENCES (APA)Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum. Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. International Universities Press. Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books. Bretherton, I. (1992). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), 759–775. Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. Guilford Press.

    32 min

  4. JAN 25

    Three kinds of needs

    MEDIA LINKSWebsite: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/HostsAli McGarelAdam W. Fominaya, PhD OVERVIEW OF BIG IDEASAli and Adam continue their goals-needs-values framework by zooming in on “needs” and why this category so often confuses people. They argue that a “need” isn’t a craving or an impulse; it’s something that, if missing, leaves you persistently off-balance. They sketch three layers: universal needs (belonging, safety, stability), transient “Sims needs” that fluctuate and demand immediate attention (sleep, bathroom, basic functioning), and personal needs that are uniquely yours or uniquely intensified for you. A practical distinction: values are outputs (how you mean to live, what you do), while needs are receipts from the world (what you require from your environment, time, and relationships to stay psychologically steady). They warn against over-specific lists: the point isn’t perfect taxonomy, it’s building a usable compass. When a big feeling hits, revisit the list—something in your goals, needs, or values is likely being neglected or overfed. The episode closes with a riff that lands as a principle: fatalism is a kind of faux prophecy. Our brains tilt toward loss, threat, and catastrophe, so “it’ll all go badly” often feels more plausible than “it could go well.” BREAKDOWN OF SEGMENTSIntro, recap of goals-needs-values as “north stars,” and a reminder that the aim is pursuit, not flawless achievement. Why “needs” are tricky: universal needs are often invisible until they’re threatened; transient needs hijack the moment; neither necessarily belongs on a personal list unless they’ve become salient. Wants versus needs, via the recurring pastry example: wanting something intensely doesn’t make it a need. Personal needs defined: the idiosyncratic requirements that keep you regulated (solitude, creative time, projects, being in nature, etc.), plus “dialed up” universal needs shaped by history and context. Needs versus values: exercise as an example—often a value (a chosen way of living), sometimes pointing to a deeper need (time, support, presence, affirmation). How to use the list: decision-making, schedule planning, and troubleshooting the “why do I feel off?” moments. Negativity bias and risk aversion: why people default to catastrophic forecasts, and why “predicting doom” can masquerade as realism. AI RECOMMENDED REFERENCES (APA)Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323–370. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323 Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346

    32 min

  5. JAN 18

    Regret, the Historian’s Fallacy, and Why “Hindsight” Is a Trick

    MEDIA LINKSWebsite: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/HostsAli McGarelAdam W. Fominaya OVERVIEW OF BIG IDEASAli and Adam dig into regret as something many people experience as “an emotion,” while Adam argues it’s better understood as a cognitive process: a backward-looking judgment that you “should have chosen differently” because you dislike the outcome. They frame this as the historian’s fallacy in everyday life: importing today’s knowledge, perspective, and consequences into the past self, then condemning that past self for not having information it literally couldn’t have had. A key move is separating the thought-structure (“I should’ve known”) from the actual emotions happening now (shame, embarrassment, disappointment, sorrow, worry). Regret-talk can become a dodge that blocks the real work: repairing, grieving, apologizing, tolerating uncertainty, or recommitting to values. They also critique outcome-obsessed living (“ends justify the means”) and nudge toward a process-oriented stance: less fixated on getting the perfect outcome, more focused on living a coherent way, even when life hands you lemons. The episode stays playful with time-travel riffs (and the chaos of trying to “fix” timelines), then pivots into a deeper point: the past and future only exist as representations in the brain right now. Memory is fallible and gets subtly rewritten with recall, so even “hindsight” isn’t a pristine window. BREAKDOWN OF SEGMENTSIntro, how to support the podcast by sharing it, and a reminder of Delve services plus consultation info and Substack. What regret is (and isn’t): cognitive process vs emotion; why people cling to regret; why it can keep you stuck. Historian’s fallacy explained with a concrete example (the “gift that offended someone” scenario) and the idea that “I should have known” often smuggles in magical thinking. Shifting from regret to present-tense emotions and present-tense actions: relational repair, naming worry, handling shame, dealing with consequences. Process-oriented living vs outcome fixation; why “bad outcomes” and discomfort are part of growth rather than proof you failed. Time travel as metaphor: trying to retroactively fix the past often makes things haywire; levity as an antidote to rumination. The present-moment thesis: memory and future-plans live in current neural hardware; perception of the past changes as you change; “hindsight is 50/50.” Closing recap and callouts to Delve’s website and Substack. AI RECOMMENDED REFERENCES (APA)Fischer, D. H. (1970). Historians’ fallacies: Toward a logic of historical thought. Harper & Row. Harrington, A. (2019). Mind fixers: Psychiatry’s troubled search for the biology of mental illness. W. W. Norton & Company. Nader, K., Schafe, G. E., & LeDoux, J. E. (2000). Fear memories require protein synthesis in the amygdala for reconsolidation after retrieval. Nature, 406, 722–726. https://doi.org/10.1038/35021052 Roese, N. J., & Vohs, K. D. (2012). Hindsight bias. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(5), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612454303

    28 min

  6. JAN 11

    Stop Comparing Yourself: How Hierarchies Hijack Self-Worth

    Media LinksWebsite: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/ ParticipantsHostsAli McGarelAdam W. Fominaya, PhD Overview of big ideasA listener question opens a familiar ache: how do you stop comparing yourself to others when it’s corroding your self-worth? Ali and Adam treat comparison as more than a quirky personal flaw. It’s often a learned reflex shaped by social hierarchies, scarcity stories, and the quiet pressure to climb. They tease apart “doing well at life” from the culturally manufactured scoreboard that tells you what should count. If you’re chasing someone else’s rubric, you’ll stay perpetually behind. They also normalize the problem without romanticizing it: you may not be responsible for the first comparison-thought, but you do have leverage over what you feed, rehearse, and obey. The antidote isn’t magical confidence. It’s values. It’s choosing what you actually want, tolerating the discomfort of not optimizing, and building a wider reality than the narrow highlight-reel you’ve been measuring yourself against. Breakdown of segmentsOpening, how to support the show, and a reminder that Delve offers consultation calls plus a small number of very low-fee and occasional pro-bono slots (Illinois-based). The listener prompt and the comparison spiral: career progress, “emotional stability,” and the shame of feeling envy. A systems lens: how class, status ladders, and “more is better” conditioning recruit people into relentless self-evaluation. A pop-culture mirror: a Black Mirror-style world where ratings become destiny, used as a vivid metaphor for social approval addiction. What change looks like in real life: growth tends to be awkward and uncomfy. The goal isn’t to delete thoughts, but to notice them, name them, and refuse to let them drive. Concrete experiments: talk honestly with trusted people (even the person you’re comparing yourself to), learn how mutual and hidden comparison often is, and widen your social world by meeting strangers and encountering different contexts. Closing reflections: gratitude as a daily reorientation, and forgiveness as an internal unburdening that doesn’t require the other person’s participation. AI Recommended References (APA formatted)Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377 Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202 Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. Guilford Press. Wright, J. (Director). (2016). Nosedive (Season 3, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In C. Brooker (Creator), Black Mirror. Netflix.

    33 min

  7. JAN 4

    How Kids Learn to Fight: Modeling, Mimicry, and the Social Ecology of Conflict

    Media Links Website: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/ Hosts Ali McGarel Adam W. Fominaya, PhD Overview of Big Ideas A listener question becomes a deceptively weighty inquiry: kids learn conflict styles by watching conflict. Bandura’s social learning theory (and the Bobo doll studies) as a stark demonstration of imitation, hostile language pickup, and behavioral “generalization” beyond what was directly modeled. PubMed+1 A crisp primer on experimental design: control groups, random assignment, and why comparison is the engine of inference. Observational learning isn’t “just for kids”: adults (and even animals) infer consequences by watching, not only by being reinforced directly. Why a simplistic rewards/punishments frame is often too anemic for humans: cognition, context, and “mentalizing” muddy the neat behaviorist story. Two vivid side-threads: decision fatigue in judges and the “Rat Park” line of work as reminders that environment and depletion can warp behavior. PubMed+1 Breakdown of Segments Welcome + practice notes: listener-supported ethos, consultation plug, Substack, and availability/low-fee options. The question: “How do kids learn how to fight?” framed as learning-by-observation. Bandura refresher: Bobo doll as a template for mimicry + escalation/generalization (new aggressive acts, not merely copied ones). PubMed+1 Science detour: what makes a study “experimental,” why controls matter, and why random assignment protects against hidden timing/context effects. Beyond humans: a dog/puppet example to illustrate vicarious learning of consequences. Complexity check: humans (and even rats) don’t reduce cleanly to pellets-and-levers; cognition and social context change the equation. PubMed+1 Closing ethos: an anti-perfectionism push—start small, iterate, and act a little before you feel “ready.” AI Recommended References (APA) Alexander, B. K., Coambs, R. B., & Hadaway, P. F. (1978). The effect of housing and gender on morphine self-administration in rats. Psychopharmacology, 58(2), 175–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00426903 Springer Link Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045925 PubMed Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1963). Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048687 PubMed Danziger, S., Levav, J., & Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011). Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(17), 6889–6892. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018033108 PubMed Gallup, G. G., Jr. (1970). Chimpanzees: Self-recognition. Science, 167(3914), 86–87. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.167.3914.86 PubMed Gage, S. H., & Sumnall, H. R. (2019). Rat Park: How a rat paradise changed the narrative of addiction. Addiction, 114(5), 917–922. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14481 PubMed

    23 min

  8. 12/28/2025

    The Mirror Trap: Why We Obsess Over What People Think (and How to Loosen the Grip)

    Media Links Website: delvepsych.comInstagram: @delvepsychchicagoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/ Hosts Ali McGarel — Staff Therapist, Delve Psychotherapy of Chicago Adam Fominaya — Executive & Clinical Director, Delve Psychotherapy of Chicago Overview of Big Ideas Wanting approval is ancient: social acceptance once meant survival—and it still shapes how we move through work, friendship, and belonging. The control fantasy: “If I do everything right, nobody will dislike me” sounds logical, but collapses under real human subjectivity and projection. Over-pleasing erodes identity: if you try to satisfy everyone, you become an amorphous “average of expectations,” not a person. “Pick your mirrors”: choose whose feedback gets to shape your self-concept—don’t hand the mirror to strangers and hecklers. Practical repair after a “bad impression”: allow the sting, then reconnect with your core people—often without needing to litigate the whole story. A spicy clinical aside: reframing can help, but existential wounds (belonging, worth, grace) can’t be solved with “half measures.” Breakdown of Segments Listener prompt + why this is universal: approval-seeking as social wiring; control as the hidden agenda. Why “doing everything right” fails: norms are contested; people interpret you through their own history. Impression management: presenting “better than I am” vs. “worse than I am,” and the unspoken motives underneath. The looking-glass problem: you can’t read minds, yet you internalize what you think others think. Stop caring what everyone thinks: rumination over strangers steals presence from the people who actually matter. Halloween example: friends-of-friends anxiety, plus a two-part response—feel the hurt, then return to your relational “home base.” CBT vs. the abyss: role-play shows reframing can soothe, but deeper questions still demand deeper work. Closing: reach out for topic requests; consults + blog plug. AI Recommended References Bollas, C. (1987). The shadow of the object: Psychoanalysis of the unthought known. Columbia University Press. Google Books Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. Scribner’s. Brock University Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. Guilford Press. ACBS Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 598–609. www2.psych.ubc.ca

    49 min
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The Delve Podcast is dedicated to exploring deeper approaches to mental wellness and the craft of psychotherapy.

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  • Creator
    Delve Psych
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Delve Psych
  • Show Website
    The Delve Podcast