Bringing Back the Human in Therapy

--Media Links--• Website: delvepsych.com• Instagram: @delvepsychchicago• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelvePsych20• Substack: https://delvepsych.substack.com/--Participants--Hosts: Ali McGarel, Adam Fominaya--Overview of Big Ideas--Ali and Adam explore how psychology risks losing touch with its human roots. They discuss how modern training, empirical pressures, and the push for legitimacy have over-mechanized therapy—turning it into protocols rather than relationships. The episode advocates reclaiming warmth, authenticity, and relational presence as the true foundation of healing work.--Breakdown of Segments--• Opening reflections on global listeners and spreading helpful ideas.• Adam’s reflections from Thailand and reading Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.• The “loss of humanity” in psychology: how experimentalism, empiricism, and behaviorism overshadow the human element.• Ali’s question: why does a field built to help humans feel so mechanized?• The profession’s effort to prove legitimacy through “hard science” methods.• Psychology as the “most fundamental science”—since all science is done by humans.• How to bring humanity back: the power of relationship and genuine care.• Carl Rogers and common-factors research—why empathy and presence matter more than technique.• Balancing care and boundaries; being human without over-involvement.• The art of self-disclosure—sharing for the client’s benefit, not one’s own.• Storytelling as ancient human teaching; reclaiming it in therapy.• Closing reflections on authenticity: clients come for your humanity, not robotic answers.• Quote of the day: “You are not afraid of abandonment. You are afraid of confirming your existing belief that you are unlovable.”• Discussion on attachment styles—why real growth happens in relationships, not outside them.• Metaphor of learning to ride a bike—security and growth require being “on the bike.”--References--• Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.• Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95-103.• Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence for What Makes Psychotherapy Work. Routledge.• Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice Hall.