ISTDP Stockholm

This will be a hybrid conference where you are welcome to join us in Stockholm or worldwide through Zoom. 

The forthcoming book, Fundamentals of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (Rathauser, J.H., Reher-Langberg, M., & Entis, J., in press), was inspired by the many trainees who, over the years, have requested access to trial therapy transcripts. ISTDP is widely recognized as a complex form of psychotherapy that is challenging for students to master. The trial therapy serves as a foundational opportunity for assessing the suitability of this approach across diverse clinical populations. It also serves to form a solid foundation for the entire course of treatment. The ISTDP therapist’s ability to conduct the trial therapy is, therefore, of the utmost importance.

Over the course of two days, we will engage in an in-depth analysis of selected cases taken from the eleven trial therapies reviewed in the book. Through a step-by-step exploration of these cases, participants will be helped to deepen their understanding of key aspects of conducting the trial therapy, such as: 

• Establishing a secure therapeutic alliance.
• Assessing the genuineness of the patient’s motivation to enter treatment.
• Reaching agreement on the therapeutic task and goal.
• The transition from pressure and challenge to the mobilization and crystallization of complex feelings in relation to the therapist (the transference component of resistance), leading to intrapsychic crisis and breakthroughs and unlocking of the unconscious.
• Recognition of the essential role of the four “pillars” of resistance.
• Identification of the three pathways of unconscious anxiety.
• Defining and recognizing syntonic defense and anxiety.
• Differentiating between two forms of clarification: “observational” and “metapsychological.”
• The use of deactivation in working with defiance and compliance.
• Understanding the distinction between the traditional, formal application of head-on collisions and what we term “passing moments of head-on collision,” which reduce the risk of therapeutic misalliances.
• Prioritizing defense analysis over pressure to feelings (I/F) in early treatment stages.
• Ensuring that patients can clearly delineate the three corners of the triangle of conflict before attempting to access the unconscious.

Presentation Format

While detailed, annotated case transcripts provide invaluable learning opportunities for clinicians, they cannot fully capture the relational dynamics conveyed through audio-visual presentations. To bridge this gap, this seminar will incorporate selected case footage from Fundamentals of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy. The format will involve 20–25-minute video segments of clinical work, followed by 10-minute discussions. This structure will be repeated throughout the two-day seminar to encourage interactive analysis and deeper comprehension.

Please click here to read the PDF flyer for more information about the conference and registration

Registration: Contact Glenn Kristoffersson via: [email protected]