Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in Washington, DC and across Virginia and North Carolina


Have you tried talk therapy and found you did not make as much progress as you would have liked?

You would be a good candidate for ISTDP therapy if you want help with:

  • Healing from past traumas and painful experiences

  • Reducing anxiety in your life

  • Improving your self-esteem

  • Improving your relationships

  • Relief from chronic pain

  • Regulating your emotions

  • Quieting negative self-talk and shame

  • Realizing your full potential

What is Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)?

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy is an empirically validated approach based on the findings of neuroscience, attachment studies, and psychodynamic theory.

According to this model, many of our psychological issues are based on the emotional effects (i.e., anger, rage, guilt, grief, etc.) of unresolved painful, shaming, or other traumatic experiences with your caregivers or important persons in your life. These emotional injuries can create a cascade of painful feelings and anxiety, and over time we learn to develop defenses (symptoms) as a way to manage these powerful emotions.

Unfortunately, this only prolongs the problem, as the defenses we learned to use early in life can become habitual self-defeating patterns of behavior, feeling, and relating to self and others.  In a nutshell, this can result in the development of our psychological symptoms and physical problems, which often include various forms of depression and anxiety, the addictions, psychosomatic issues, panic attacks, overly self-critical thoughts, and relationship problems, such as difficulties with emotional closeness, or feeling cut off from others.

​Yet, we believe our crisis, pain, and emotional difficulties offer a way to tap into our own healing capacities and strengths that have remained dormant or otherwise cut off. To undo aloneness, we strive to create a healing therapeutic environment to safely process and work through trauma and suffering and create healing and transformational experiences.

What to Expect

In this approach the primary focus is first on developing a collaborative and safe working relationship. Then, we begin helping you to identify and reduce areas of anxiety, patterns of defensive reactions with yourself and others, and to experience and work through your cut-off emotions. Ultimately, we want to help you tap into and  build your inner healing capacities, strengths, and the ability to manage these feelings in healthier ways.

Through this work, clients often report a drop in their anxiety, tension, and other psychological and physical symptoms. Clients often report feeling more “clear” and “grounded”, both in the session and in dealing with others and life in general. Because of this, they become more free to deal with life in much more healthy ways.  In this way you can learn to rewrite those old "scripts" and lead a more productive and fulfilling life.

​This treatment approach has been well researched and shown to be effective in resolving problems in a time efficient manner.

A more detailed overview can be found on Wikipedia

Current research on ISTDP can be found HERE