ISTDP Therapy: Thoughts?

[GettingThere]

At the end of January, I started therapy with a new therapist who does ISTDP therapy. She also does CBT and DBT, and I can attest to this because her DBT based group therapy is great. However, in our individual sessions, we do visualization exercises that I don't find helpful because they're quite repetitive and formulaic. I'm thinking about asking her if we could stick to DBT based therapy in our private sessions, but I'm worried she will react badly.

Have you heard of ISTDP therapy before, or know the books of Jon Frederickson? If you have, what are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's worth it to continue with this therapist if she practices this type of therapy?

[Kizzie]

Note: ISTDP = Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy. Info - https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/intensive-short-term-dynamic-psychotherapy

I hadn't heard of this GettingThere but from what I've read (and this is only my opinion) I myself would be wary because it is so intensive and designed to break down barriers/resistance to facing emotions/memories.  Given we have layers of trauma that built up over time I'm not sure taking a sledge hammer to the protective walls we've built would be a good approach and they're there for a reason. Generally therapy for CPTSD establishes safety and trust before uncovering layers of trauma and pain at a pace that's comfortable for each person.

FWIW I think you have every right to not undergo this approach if you're not comfortable.

[Blueberry]

I hadn't heard of this GettingThere but from what I've read (and this is only my opinion) I myself would be wary because it is so intensive and designed to break down barriers/resistance to facing emotions/memories.  Given we have layers of trauma that built up over time I'm not sure taking a sledge hammer to the protective walls we've built would be a good approach and they're there for a reason. Generally therapy for CPTSD establishes safety and trust before uncovering layers of trauma and pain at a pace that's comfortable for each person.

I have in fact done very short and intensive bouts of dynamic psychotherapy - though not Davaloo's. Although it did help, there came a point where it didn't help any more. For one thing, I reached only pain, anger, sadness, fear. I needed to do tons of Inner Child therapy elsewhere to reach positive memories - e.g. of playful, creative, competent and strong Inner Children to balance things out. I really needed the balance.

I checked a website on ISTDP in my country (not in English so I can't link) and they don't mention trauma at all. It's not in the list of diagnoses for which ISTDP is useful, nor in the list where they suggest you don't use ISTDP. The fact that they don't mention trauma or cptsd would make me really wary.

I also think it's important in therapy that the therapist has various tools to hand and believes in their usefulness. Lots of therapists can do EMDR, but can they help you process by a different method in case that's not any good for you? My T does EMDR, brainspotting and more. I know because neither of the first two work for me. I would be wary of a T who offers only ISTDP to process trauma.

[Not Alone]

I'm thinking about asking her if we could stick to DBT based therapy in our private sessions, but I'm worried she will react badly.

Your therapist is there for you. Even if she did not think DBT is best for you, she could discuss it and explain her thoughts. If she were to "react badly" I think she would be reacting out of her own needs and maybe insecurities.

[Kizzie]

    

[GettingThere]

Thanks everyone for your helpful feedback. Things have actually turned out very well with my therapist. I expressed that the ISTDP approach wasn't working for me, and she was very receptive and supportive. For the last month we've switched over to AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), which she also specializes in.

Even though it has "accelerated" in the name, my T assured me we would take things as slowly as I need to. We've been doing Inner Child work, and working on strengthening our therapist-client relationship. I've also been reading a book called It's Not Always Depression by Hilary Jacobs Hendel and I've found it very helpful. It explains how anxiety, shame, and guilt block us from experiencing our core emotions of sadness, joy, anger, fear, etc.

Working with my T to help my inner child express her core emotions has been groundbreaking for me. If anyone reading is looking for another tool to add to their tool belt, I would recommend checking out AEDP to see if it's right for you 

[Kizzie]

FWIW I think it's awesome you spoke up GettingThere              

I haven't heard of Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy either but it seems like you're finding it a good fit so far and that's what counts. 

Note:  Accelerated experiential-dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on healing-oriented techniques and aims to achieve a transformation in client behavior by exploring the in-depth processing of difficult emotional and relational experiences.  See https://aedpinstitute.org/.