Benefits of Using Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in Psychiatric Practice

Psychiatry residency programs in the United States and Canada currently require trainees to demonstrate competency in psychodynamic therapy. Developed by Habib Davanloo, intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) is a brief psychodynamic therapy with emerging evidence to support its efficacy as an evidence-based, cost-effective treatment for various common psychiatric disorders and personality pathologies. Davanloo's metapsychology of the unconscious offers a way to understand the psychodynamic processes that maintain patients' psychiatric symptoms. Some key clinical processes unique to ISTDP facilitate conceptualization of patients' problems and allow for effective interventions. ISTDP skills can be especially helpful when working with populations with complex and treatment-resistant conditions that are commonly encountered in psychiatric secondary- and tertiary-care settings. This article aims to examine the value of ISTDP training for psychiatrists. First, the benefits of being able to offer formal treatment with ISTDP are examined. Second, the unique skills acquired through ISTDP training, which can be used in general psychiatric care, are reviewed. Finally, the personal and systemic benefits of ISTDP training, including clinician self-monitoring, management of burnout, and team leadership, are discussed.