It has been said that to find the path, one must become the path. Offering effective ISTDP treatment requires us to stretch and increase our own emotional, psychological, and energetic capacities, it may even facilitate higher states of consciousness. It is my experience that to increase our therapeutic effectiveness, we need to undertake our own inner healing journey, this in turn enhances our capacity to guide healing in others. This is the story of my journey so far and I hope by telling this story, you can understand more of your own journey as well as our collective universal journeys towards healing and wholeness.

Day 1 of this workshop aims to provide a space to consider how ISTDP, as an effective psychotherapeutic model of change, can be located within a larger spiritual framework that not only has the power to transform patients but also the person of the therapist. The workshop will explore my hero’s journey within ISTDP and you will be invited to explore yours. Across the 2 days, we will consider different ways to embody our ISTDP practice to compliment the theoretical and technical aspects of the approach. We will view clinical vignettes that demonstrate key learning phases that many therapists struggle with. We will consider how the ISTDP process can be likened to universal patterns of transformation which include death and rebirth. We will undertake some experiential exercises designed to build awareness of your own unconscious processes that may impact your ISTDP work.

On Day 2, we will have presentations from several experienced ISTDP practitioners who are actively considering spiritual innovations within their ISTDP work.  These experiential presentations will cover the following topics: Melting shame combining ISTDP and music by Liv Raissi; ISTDP and Connection by Dr. Allen Kalpin; and The Sacred Alliance: Psychotherapy, Spirituality, and the Western Unconscious by Lawson Sachter (http://psychodynamiczen.org/).