This workshop will have a special focus on understanding and treating patients who present to health services with physical complaints and other behavioural problems, such as eating disorders. Many of these cases can be categorised as treatment resistant cases or cases with fragile character structure.

Underlying many of the problems for these patients, clinicians often uncover a history of trauma, often beginning in the early developmental phase of life and underpins many of the problems people present to treatment for. In this cases, a psychological treatment such as ISTDP may be helpful.

In this workshop, the principles, metapsychology, and techniques of ISTDP will be presented. Demonstrations of useful techniques to help increase the effectiveness of your work will be provided with extensive use of video recorded material of actual therapy sessions with clients.

By the end of this workshop you will learn about:

• The ISTDP model and how to identify, assess and treat patients
• How to recognise the type and quality of defences in patients
• How to determine the level of anxiety tolerance each patient has, and
• How to improve each patient’s capacity to want to deal with their emotional problems

About the Presenter

Dr Dion Nowoweiski is a Senior Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years of experience working in the public and private sector. He undertook his training in ISTDP under Dr Allan Abbass and worked at the Centre for Emotions and Health in Halifax, Canada (2012-2013). He currently works in private practice and at St Vincent’s Health with the Gastroenterology service and provides psychological treatment for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He has published research on ISTDP, eating disorders and provides supervision and training in ISTDP. He helps people learn to integrate ISTDP practices and principles in a respectful and collegial style.