What is ISTDP?
Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, or ISTDP, is a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy that offers rapid relief from suffering, abatement of symptoms, and a comprehensive understanding of the self. ISTDP is a short-term therapy, often lasting only a few months.
ISTDP was developed by Dr. Habib Davanloo, MD, emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Montreal General Hospital and McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Davanloo created ISTDP as a reliable method for compassionately handling the resistances, both conscious and unconscious, that can occur within each of us to looking at our true feelings and the origin of our symptoms. While this resistance often stalls or even defeats other treatments, ISTDP works directly with this resistance to help patients get unstuck and bring out all their strengths and capacities.
ISTDP, in essence, is a method designed to free the healing force that exists within each of us and bring its full capacities to bear on the treatment.
What kinds of problems does ISTDP address?
anxiety and panic disorders
depression and treatment-resistant depression
personality disorders
medically unexplained symptoms
chronic pain and headaches
addiction
self-defeating behaviors
emotional blocks
relational problems
My Approach to ISTDP
The treatment I offer is individually tailored to each patient. My approach is never cookie-cutter, although I am structured, organized, and precise in my interventions. Each patient is unique and each treatment is unique. I approach every patient as a true partner, and expect patients to bring motivation, will, and openness to the endeavor.
The first step in working together is a brief telephone consultation to determine if we might work well together. ISTDP treatment begins with a 3-hour initial evaluation to determine if ISTDP is the right type of therapy for you. The aim of the first session is to get to the core of your difficulties, understand their origin and maintenance so that effective treatment can commence immediately. Weekly or biweekly 60 or 90-minute sessions follow, and treatment typically lasts multiple months, rather than multiple years.
Schedule your telephone consultation