Making Therapy Better

What is the unique value of psychotherapy in a world where AI can convincingly simulate empathy while delivering evidence-based treatments with better fidelity than many human therapists? In this episode, Bruce Wampold sits down with Dr. Anat Perry -- one of the first and most innovative researchers studying human empathy in comparison with AI-simulated empathy. Together, Bruce and Anat explore: •...

Can the structure of speech reveal where a psychotic episode is heading? In this episode, Bruce talks with computational psychiatrist Natalia Mota, MD, PhD, about her research showing how the structure of speech can help differentiate between emerging psychotic disorders earlier and more precisely than traditional methods alone. Using graph theory and natural language processing, Natalia and her t...

Is depression really caused by a chemical imbalance — or is that one of the most enduring myths in modern psychiatry? For decades, the serotonin theory of depression has shaped how mental health is explained, treated, and marketed to the public. But what does the science actually show — and why does evidence that challenges this narrative provoke such intense reactions? In this provocative episode...

Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy REALLY superior to Humanistic or Psychodynamic approaches? According to the scientific evidence, what factors ACTUALLY drive the change process, and what skills can therapists strengthen to get better outcomes? In this episode of The Making Therapy Better Podcast, our host Dr. Bruce Wampold takes the guest seat in a lively conversation with a group of young Brazilia...

Why do therapists keep making the same avoidable mistakes? In this episode, Dr. Bruce Wampold sits down with Dr. Mick Cooper — Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Roehampton and an internationally recognized expert in humanistic, existential, and pluralistic therapies. Together, Bruce and Mick break down common therapist mistakes and their impact on the therapeutic alliance. Th...

Despite decades of evidence showing that group therapy is often just as effective as individual therapy, it remains underutilized in clinical training and practice. Why? In this episode, Dr. Bruce Wampold sits down with Dr. Cheri Marmarosh — Professor of Clinical Psychology at The George Washington University and one of the world's leading experts on group psychotherapy. Together, they discuss: Wh...

Has the rise of telehealth truly reduced inequities in who has access to psychotherapy? Who is being left behind? How did COVID-19 impact the prevalence of mental illness? These are just a few of the questions Bruce explores in this timely episode with Dr. Mark Olfson, one of the leading experts on mental health services in the U.S. ...And the answers may surprise you! It's no secret that the ment...

Dive into placebo effects in clinical trials, psychotherapy, and even conditions like Parkinson’s. Can a sugar pill really help someone heal? And what if it’s not just the pill, but the expectation of benefit, that drives the outcomes? In this episode, Dr. Bruce Wampold sits down with Dr. John Kelley, one of the world’s leading placebo researchers, to explore how belief, expectation, empathy and t...

In this inspiring episode, Bruce sits down with Dr. Louis Castonguay from Pennsylvania State University to delve into the evolution and current state of psychotherapist training and education. The discussion covers a broad range of topics, from the risks of holding rigidly to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in training programs to importance of intellectual humility and the diminishing focus on...

In this engaging episode, Bruce sits down with Dr. Julia Frank to discuss their collaboration on the newly revised edition of 'Persuasion and Healing,' a groundbreaking book on the science and philosophy of psychotherapy originally written by Julia’s father, Jerome Frank. The book has shaped generations of psychotherapists—including Bruce himself—and remains one of the most influential works in th...

Why haven’t psychotherapy outcomes improved in decades, despite hundreds of new treatment models and thousands of new randomized controlled trials? In this special episode of the Making Therapy Better podcast, renowned psychotherapy researchers Bruce Wampold and Scott Miller discuss how the field’s obsession with inventing and testing treatment methods may have distracted us from strengthening the...

Zac Imel, PhD is a professor and Director of clinical training in the counseling department at the University of Utah as well as co-founder and Chief Psychotherapy Science officer at Lyssn.io , an AI-powered assessment platform for behavioral health and human services. He has had over 50 papers published in academic journals, with a particular interest in assessing and improving the quality of men...

Daisy Singla, PhD is a clinical psychologist, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and senior scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She has led some of the largest clinical psychotherapy trials in the world, exploring methods for increasing access to mental health services in divers...

Michael Garrett MD is professor emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, and previously served as medical director of the Department of Psychiatry at North Central Bronx Hospital, and Deputy Director of Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital Medical Center in Manhattan. He is the author of Psychotherapy for Psychosis: Integrating Cognitive-Behavioral and Psychodynamic...

Jerome is a Professor of Social Work at New York University as well as a member of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, and has sat on editorial boards for the Clinical Social Work Journal and Evolutionary Psychology. He is the author of more than 300 publications appearing in journals in psychology, philosophy, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and social work, and a number of books,...

Nancy McWilliams, PhD is emerita visiting professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and a former president of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Psychoanalysis. She is the author of several books including Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: a Practitioner’s Guide. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Rosalee Weiss Award, the Laughlin...

Dr. Raison is a professor of psychiatry and human ecology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, director of Clinical and Translational Research for Usona Institute, and Director of Research on Spiritual Health for Emory Healthcare. In addition, Dr Raison founded the Center for Compassion Studies at the University of Arizona. His research has focused on novel mechanisms involved in the development an...

Steven is a professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University. He has over 300 publications to his name and is the recipient of numerous awards, including, in 2020, the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology. He has served as Editor of the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, and president of the Association for Behavioral and Cogni...

Ed received his doctorate in anthropology from UC Santa Barbara, after which he worked at the Institute for Theoretical Biology in Berlin. He is currently a professor of evolutionary anthropology and director of the Bioanthropology Lab at Washington State University Vancouver. His research focuses on evolutionary medicine and finding evolutionary explanations for the origins of substance use and o...

Barrett Griffith is CEO of CarePaths, where he has served for over five years, previously as a developer and then as CTO. He has two decades of experience in the tech industry, with much of that time in healthcare IT. Maureen Hart, PhD and Geoff Gray, PhD are both psychologists with years of clinical and managerial experience who saw the potential for technology to improve the quality of mental he...

Catherine Eubanks, PhD is co-director of the Center for Alliance-Focused Training, and professor of clinical psychology at Adelphi University. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and received the Outstanding Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Psychotherapy Research in 2015. Dr. Eubanks helped to develop the Rupture Resolution Rating System and is coauthor of...

Jonathan Shedler, Phd is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and faculty member at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. He is author of numerous scientific and scholarly articles, and his article The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy won worldwide acclaim for firmly establishing psychoanalytic therapy as an evidence-based treatment...

Edward R Jones, PhD is a clinical psychologist with years of executive leadership experience in the behavioral healthcare industry, including Vice President roles at Pacific Care Behavioral Health and Value Options. He has worked as a healthcare consultant in connection with both established and start-up companies. In recent years he has focused on health and wellness services, digital health serv...

Terri Moyers, PhD is a Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of New Mexico. Her research has focused on the active ingredients of empirically supported interventions for substance use treatments, particularly motivational interviewing. She also has an active line of research investigating therapist characteristics that support more favorable client outcomes. Dr. Moyers has more...

Helene Nissen-Lie is a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oslo and a practicing psychologist. She participates in a number of research projects in Norway as well as internationally, including collaborations with the University of Sheffield and the University of Chicago. She has published over 50 papers and articles, and her research interests include therapist effects, the thera...