Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy Training Program
Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy is designed to achieve long term structural character change in briefer periods than with traditional psychodynamic therapy. Based on psychodynamic theory, it uses active techniques designed to focus, clarify, and intensify the therapeutic process.
This model of treatment was first developed by Habib Davanloo. Davanloo recognized that rapid character change could take place through helping the patient relinquish defenses against emotional experience. He accomplished this through a method of handling resistance and transference which mobilizes the patient's unconscious therapeutic alliance. As a result, the patient reveals the core emotions and conflicts which have been responsible for character problems. This model of treatment has shown excellent results with a broad range of patients in numerous psychotherapy studies over the past 35 years.
In addition to the work of Davanloo, this program introduces students to recent contributions to this technique. Students will also study work on defense restructuring (Patricia Coughlin), attachment theory based ISTDP (Rob Neborsky), work with fragile patients (Allan Abbass), mindfulness based ISTDP (Allen Kalpin), mobilizing ego capacity (Josette ten Have de Labije), work with projection (Kees Cornellisen), radical empathy (Diana Fosha), and other subjects as well. This course will focus on relational and experiential techniques for deepening the therapeutic relationship by facilitating the experience and working through of core affects.
When patients can afford only a time-limited treatment, therapists must be even more skilled, rapid, and effective. We will teach those clinical skills in this program. Students learn how to help patients relinquish defenses in order to face feelings they previously avoided. You will also learn how to recognize pathways of unconscious anxiety discharge in the body so as to help patients better regulate their anxiety. You will also learn how to use "radical empathy" in order to better connect to the patient emotionally. You will learn how to help patients turn against ego syntonic defenses. Whether you do primarily long term or short term psychotherapy, the skills you learn in this course will deepen and accelerate your work with all of your patients. Whatever theoretical orientation you use, the course will increase your skills for intensive therapy.
Format
This is a three year program which leads to a certificate and graduation. However, you can take one semester, one year, two years, or three years of the program. The first year of the program is organized in two hour classes. The first hour is a theoretical presentation; the second hour uses videotaped therapy sessions to illustrate the theory and to develop your clinical skills. It is our intent to demonstrate everything we teach with videotaped examples drawn from our own work. Students in the second and third years videotape their work for group supervision in order to develop competence in the basic techniques.
Classes for first and second year students meet alternate Fridays in the late afternoons, eight times per semester.
Curriculum
First Year, First Semester
Basic principles of theory and technique in ISTDP: the triangle of conflict, regulation of anxiety, unconscious pathways of anxiety discharge, restructuring of defenses, therapeutic alliance---conscious and unconscious, resistance, transference, and depression.
First Year, Second Semester
Working with the highly resistant patient, psychodiagnosis of fragility, working with superego pathology, resistance against emotional closeness, deactivating malignant transferences.
Second Year, First Semester
Formulating the task. Establishing an intrapsychic focus. Establishing a consensus on the task. Psychodiagnosis of character structure. Maintaining a focus. The central dynamic sequence: pressure, challenge, challenge, confrontation, breakthrough into the unconscious, consolidation. All students videotape and present their work in group supervision and peer supervision.
Second Year, Second Semester
Application of the graded approach for depressed, highly resistant, somatizing, and fragile patients. Differentiating the ego and superego. Problems in the phase of pressure. Blocking insecure attachment patterns, facilitating a secure attachment pattern.
Third Year
Third year students receive in depth video supervision with faculty and guest faculty as well as an immersion training in ISTDP. Demonstrated competency in ISTDP principles will lead to a certificate on graduation. Special topics will be covered in ISTDP depending on group needs.
Supervision
Supervision is provided by the faculty during the class time in the second and third year. Optional small group and individual supervision can be set up as needed.
Educational Objectives
First Year
- Recognize the triangle of conflict and how to use it to obtain character change quickly
- Recognize the pathways of unconscious anxiety discharge and learn how to regulate the patient's anxiety
- Learn to recognize, clarify, and confront defenses, and how to transform them from syntonic to ego dystonic
- Learn to help patients face feelings without anxiety or defenses interfering
- Learn how to mobilize the therapeutic alliance
Second Year
- Become more active in the compassionate interruption of defenses
- Learn to invite feeling and challenge defenses to create a better therapeutic alliance
- Learn to apply the graded approach to patients with low ego adaptive capacity
Third Year
- Become able to use the standard approach with more highly resistant patients
Eligibility
General guidelines:
- A graduate degree in social work, psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, or related clinical fields
- Experience conducting psychotherapy
- Personal psychodynamic psychotherapy
- A solid grounding in psychodynamic psychotherapy
Applications will be considered on the basis of individual skills, maturity, and experience
Tuition
Year 1: $960
Year 2: $1,225
Year 3: to be determined
Faculty
- Jon Frederickson, MSW, Co-Chair
- Barbara Suter, Ph.D., Co-chair
- Steve Slatkin, MD
- Anne Stephansky, MSW
Guest Faculty
- Leyla M. Kenny, Ph.D.
- Janet Merkel, Ph.D.
- Nancy Reder, MSW