ISTDP

Even when clients feel the motivation to come to therapy, it does not mean they approach treatment without resistance or defenses. In fact, most, if not all of us, have existing unconscious anxieties and defenses, and often these manifest earlier in our lives as a way to survive. ISTDP (Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) is a model that enhances awareness of anxiety and feeling states in the body and helps identify and challenge defenses in the here and now, as a means of increasing access to unconscious material affecting patterns of present day conflict. The model is a beautiful blend of somatic experiential work with psychoanalytic processes that challenge defenses and uses the Clinician-Client relationship as a vehicle to processing unprocessed history.

Clients often refer to this work as “intense and provocative,” but also note that the work feels helpful in expediting awareness that has previously been unconsciously avoided in long term therapies.