Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy for Complex, Chronic, and Treatment-Resistant Conditions

• DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20240024
• Publication Date: 2025-01-29T08:04:19Z
• Authors: Allan Abbass; Joel Town

Over the past 50 years, intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) has been developed, implemented, and evaluated with respect to treatment of a broad spectrum complex, chronic, treatment-resistant conditions. This therapy was developed specifically treat range patients, including those who are highly defensive, experience repression emotions, have cognitive-perceptual disruptions along primitive defenses. These three groups patients characterized by patterns attachment trauma deficits related neglect. Among many categories mental illness these features that ISTDP can treat, personality disorders, depression, somatic symptoms most frequently studied. In this article, authors provide an overview method regard conditions summarize evidence for its effectiveness diverse patient populations. On basis available evidence, warrants consideration as tool management populations chronic complex not responded other treatments.