Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy
ISTDP is a powerful, focused form of therapy that helps you break free from emotional patterns that have kept you stuck. At its core, ISTDP is about helping you connect with your true emotions—the ones that might be buried under layers of anxiety, defense mechanisms, or unresolved conflicts. These emotional blocks don’t just affect your mind; they often show up in your body, contributing to physical symptoms like tension, fatigue, chronic pain and digestive issues.
In ISTDP, we work together to identify and gently confront the unconscious emotional conflicts that drive your anxiety, depression, and self-critical thoughts. By focusing on these core emotions, we can release long-held emotional pain and resolve the internal struggles that cause you distress. The goal is emotional freedom: the ability to experience your feelings fully and freely, without being overwhelmed by them or held back by old patterns.
Now, you might be thinking, “I can’t just go acting on my feelings all the time!” And that’s true. Emotional freedom doesn’t mean acting impulsively—it’s about creating a space where you can deeply feel and process your emotions in a way that’s grounded, meaningful, and safe. Together, we’ll explore your emotional world in a way that helps you understand the why behind your feelings. This process leads to clarity and insight, so you can respond thoughtfully, rather than reacting based on unconscious patterns.
ISTDP also emphasizes the mind-body connection. Emotional pain, when repressed, can manifest as physical symptoms. By addressing these emotions directly, ISTDP often leads to improvements in both emotional well-being and physical health.
This therapy is experiential, meaning we work in the moment, focusing on what you’re feeling right now. It’s not about intellectualizing your problems but about truly experiencing and processing the emotions at the root of them. This deep emotional work allows you to feel lighter, more in control, and better equipped to form healthier, more fulfilling relationships—both with yourself and others.
If you’ve ever felt trapped by your past, overwhelmed by your emotions, or disconnected from yourself, ISTDP offers a way forward. It’s a path to reclaiming your emotional life, understanding your body’s signals, and building a future where you’re no longer held back by unresolved inner conflicts.
While ISTDP isn’t appropriate for everyone, it has been shown to effectively treat a broad spectrum of mental health concerns. Please see the link below for a breakdown of what each component of the ISTDP acronym means.
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Intensive - The therapist stance as well as the client stance in ISTDP treatment is highly active and engaged. Moment to moment attention is placed on feelings, anxiety, and defenses, and we will be working together.
Short-Term - ISTDP has been shown to treat a broad spectrum of mental health concerns, has been shown to maximize treatment, and in many cases shorten average treatment length. The short-term part of the name should not mislead you into thinking you will only need a few sessions or that your treatment will have a predetermined length. Treatment length is completely unique to the individual. I typically work with individuals between 6 months and 1 year.
Dynamic Psychotherapy - A psychodynamic therapist knows how to listen from multiple angles, and seeks to help develop meaning and insight from learning about your patterns and current struggles. There is a distinct encouragement of the past and present and of both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind cooperating to develop deep insight. Dynamic psychotherapy is more than venting or receiving empathy from your therapist. Effective psychotherapy provides empathy as well as honesty and will help you understand and integrate internal sources of your suffering.
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If you are interested in ISTDP training click the links below.
The interplay between feelings, anxiety and defense are the hallmark of ISTDP
Feelings - our core emotions and corresponding impulses (anger, disgust, sadness, love, joy, sexual arousal, fear) connect us to our authentic self and the ability to connect intimately with others
Anxiety - is triggered by feelings, and at times engulfs our feelings. When we look at your current problems, and your triangle of inner conflict (feeling/anxiety/defense), the root cause of suffering can become illuminated.
Defense - anything we do to ward off feelings and lower our anxiety. The goal of ISTDP is not to leave us defenseless. ISTDP shines a light on the defenses that get in our way and exacerbate our internal emotional problems. It is up to us, our desire, our will, to look at what we may be doing and make a healthy choice for ourselves. This is done with compassion, honesty, and understanding for our life experiences.
Results: Experiencing our feelings and impulses, anxiety regulation, and restructuring of our defenses can lead us to a sense of congruence, openheartedness, and a life lived consciously.