Therapy in a Nutshell

Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and her podcast does exactly what the name promises: it distills therapy skills and clinical research into clear, actionable episodes. The format alternates between solo episodes where McAdam teaches specific techniques and interview episodes with guest experts. A recent standout featured Richard Schwartz, the founder of Internal Family Systems therapy, discussing how to access healing without a therapist present. The show covers CBT, IFS, ADHD, depression, anxiety, emotional regulation, and trauma recovery, always with a practical bent. McAdam has a warm but direct teaching style, and she is good at breaking complex therapeutic concepts into steps that listeners can actually use. With 277 episodes and an impressive 4.8-star rating from 567 reviews, it punches above its weight in listener satisfaction. New episodes drop biweekly. What sets this apart from other mental health podcasts is that McAdam genuinely teaches skills rather than just talking about mental health in general terms. She gives you frameworks, exercises, and specific language to try. The episodes are designed to be accessible even for people with attention difficulties, which is a thoughtful touch. If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how therapy actually works and want to build your own emotional toolkit, this show is one of the best resources available in podcast form.