Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
Explore the emotional processes beneath recurring difficulties
ISTDP is a focused, active psychodynamic approach that explores how feelings and responses to them may relate to your concerns. Your psychologist will discuss suitability, pace and what to expect before the work begins.
About Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
Focused therapeutic work, with attention to your readiness
Sessions pay attention to emotional experiences and patterns that may show up in everyday life and in the therapeutic conversation. The approach involves active collaboration. The pace and focus are discussed with you, and your psychologist will explain the work and check how you are experiencing it. Session length, frequency and the expected course of therapy are considered through individual discussion.
- Focus on emotional processes and recurring patterns
- Active collaboration in the sessions
- Pace discussed with attention to your readiness
- Ongoing review of the work and its suitability
Therapeutic Approach
A clear focus, developed and reviewed together
Your concerns and goals provide the starting point. The psychologist will explain the process, discuss your questions and pay attention to how you experience the sessions.
01
Understanding your concerns
Discuss the difficulties you are experiencing and the changes you would like to work towards.
Suitability and expectations are considered at the outset.
02
Recognising patterns
Notice emotional responses and ways of coping that may be connected with recurring difficulties.
The aim is to understand your experience in context.
03
Working with emotional experience
Explore feelings within the therapeutic conversation, with the level of focus and pace discussed with you.
The psychologist checks how you are experiencing the work.
04
Reviewing the process
Talk about what is becoming clearer, what remains difficult and how the work relates to your goals.
The approach and pace are reviewed as therapy develops.
Areas of Support
Themes that can be discussed in the initial consultation
An initial discussion helps establish whether ISTDP fits your concerns, preferences and circumstances. Possible themes include:
Recurring emotional patterns
Explore emotional responses that seem to repeat across situations or relationships.
Avoiding difficult feelings
Consider what happens when feelings become uncomfortable or difficult to put into words.
Anxiety in difficult moments
Discuss how anxiety appears in your experience and how it relates to the concerns you bring.
Relationship patterns
Explore familiar responses in relationships and the emotional experiences associated with them.
Self-criticism
Consider patterns of internal pressure, harsh judgement or difficulty recognising your own needs.
Emotional understanding
Work towards a clearer understanding of feelings and their place in your everyday experience.