For Clinicians
Mind Dive, A Podcast for Mental Health Professionals
Welcome to Mind Dive, Menninger's podcast for mental health professionals, with Robert Boland, MD, senior vice president and chief of staff, and Kerry Horrell, PhD. 
Podcast Focus
Each month, they dive into topics that fascinate them as clinical professionals and hopefully fascinate you, too. They examine dilemmas faced by professionals here at Menninger and colleagues across the nation while working with some of the most challenging cases. They explore the latest research and other trending topics on the minds of psychiatrists, psychologists and others who are interested in the treatment and study of the mind. Drs. Boland and Horrell make it a goal to cover information that gets little attention in formal training programs.
Most Recent Episodes
Episode 74: The Importance of Therapeutic Relationships
We dig into the “uncommon common factors”: the therapist’s personal and professional growth; trustworthiness grounded in care and competence; and the hard truth that people hurt in relationships are sensibly wary. Dr. Allen draws on philosophy and feminist ethics of care to illuminate what training often skips—how to think about care when gratitude doesn’t arrive, and how to act with integrity even when we don’t feel warm. We also talk about mentalizing through the Slade Test: does a concept help you know people better? If not, toss the jargon.
Connection often happens beneath words. Borrowing from attachment science and jazz, Dr. Allen describes sessions as structured improvisation—rhythm, timing, and a shared “third” that can’t be scripted. That ineffable, spiritual sense of being met is where safety grows and where change takes root. The takeaway is not a checklist. It is a craft you refine across a lifetime: keep your methods, deepen your presence, and let the relationship teach you how to help.
If this resonates with you as a listener/reader, follow the show, share it with a colleague who needs the reminder, and leave a review so more clinicians can find these conversations. Your reflections shape what Mind Dive explores next.
Transcript
Meet the Hosts
Dr. Boland is an educator at heart with decades of experience teaching and mentoring psychiatry residents. In addition to his roles at Menninger, he is the executive vice chair of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.
A psychologist specializing in Young Adults, Dr. Horrell also loves teaching. She completed a predoctoral internship and postgraduate fellowship at Menninger and Baylor College of Medicine.
Both are well read, love canines (and have to resist rescuing too many) and are curious about many subjects.
Join Us
We hope you’ll join us on our podcast journey. And if you have a topic in mind that you would like us to dive into, drop us a note.
Mind Dive is available on all of the places you find your favorite podcasts.
Leave a Review
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