ISTDP Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in Ho Chi Minh City
An active, emotion-focused form of psychodynamic therapy, with a Norway-licensed clinical psychologist. In person or online.
- 50-minute sessions
- 90 USD per session
- Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh or online
- English or Norwegian
What is ISTDP?
Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is a form of psychodynamic therapy. It works with three things together: feelings you have learned to avoid, the anxiety those feelings set off in your body, and the habits, called defences, that keep them out of awareness. It was designed to work in a shorter time frame than traditional psychodynamic therapy.
- Type: short-term psychodynamic therapy, focused on emotion
- Often used for: depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms without a clear medical cause
- With me: 50-minute sessions in English or Norwegian, in Ho Chi Minh City or online
The basic idea
Many people know what they ought to feel and still cannot feel it. Or a feeling arrives and comes out sideways: as a headache, a tight chest, a joke, a shrug, a sudden need to please.
ISTDP looks at this as a sequence that can run in a few seconds:
Feeling
Something stirs: anger at someone you love, grief you have not had room for, a wish to be close.
Anxiety
Your body reacts before you have words for it. Tense hands or shoulders, a sigh, a knotted stomach, a mind that suddenly goes blank.
Defence
You move away from the feeling. You go quiet, become very reasonable, criticise yourself, or turn the anger on yourself.
Defences once protected you. Running on autopilot, they cost closeness, energy and sometimes health.
What happens in an ISTDP session
ISTDP is active. Rather than talking about your life in general, we look closely at specific moments where the problem shows up, and at what happens in you as we talk about them.
- We start with what you want help with and a specific, recent example.
- I pay close attention to how anxiety shows up in your body. It tells us how much feeling you can take in at that moment.
- When anxiety runs too high, we slow down and build capacity first. When it is manageable, we stay with the feeling long enough for it to be felt rather than avoided.
- We look at defences together, as habits you can see and choose about, not as faults.
Some people notice a shift early. When difficulties go back to early relationships, the work usually takes longer. We review progress together along the way.
Who ISTDP can help
ISTDP may help if you:
- have depression that has not improved enough with medication or earlier therapy
- live with anxiety or panic that seems to come from nowhere
- have headaches, stomach problems, chronic tension or other physical symptoms that doctors cannot fully explain
- keep repeating the same patterns in relationships or at work
- find it hard to feel or show anger, grief or closeness
If you are in immediate danger, or thinking about ending your life, weekly therapy is not the right place to start. Contact local emergency services or go to a hospital first.
How I use ISTDP
ISTDP has been central to my clinical work. In Norway I worked at Modum Bad, in the inpatient division for treatment-resistant depression, where ISTDP was the primary treatment model. Patients there often had depression alongside trauma, personality difficulties and anxiety.
Frequently asked questions
Is ISTDP the same as psychodynamic therapy?
It is one form of it. Like other psychodynamic therapies, ISTDP assumes that feelings and conflicts outside awareness shape symptoms and relationships. It is more active and focused than most, with close attention to anxiety in the body and to what happens between you and the therapist in the session.
How long does ISTDP take?
It varies. A focused problem can sometimes be worked through in a limited number of sessions; long-standing patterns usually take longer. We agree on a focus early and review it together as we go.
Is ISTDP confrontational?
Its early reputation was. Today it is practised with close attention to pacing: the therapist tracks how much anxiety you can manage and adjusts. You can expect to be challenged, and you stay in charge of how far and how fast we go.
How is ISTDP different from CBT?
CBT works mainly with thoughts and behaviour, often with exercises between sessions. ISTDP works mainly with emotions, anxiety and defences as they happen in the session. They suit different people and problems.
Can ISTDP be done online?
Yes. Because ISTDP pays attention to small changes in the body, it helps to have a stable connection with your face and upper body visible on camera. Some people prefer to start in person.
Is ISTDP available in Vietnam?
It is still rare. I offer ISTDP in English and Norwegian at Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City, and online.
Do I need a diagnosis to start?
No. Many people come because something keeps repeating, or because their body seems to be saying something their mind has not caught up with.
Practical details
ISTDP is part of my individual therapy. Sessions are 50 minutes and cost 90 USD. We meet in person at Saigon Pearl, Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City, or online. Sessions are in English, with Norwegian also available.
For more on how I work and how to begin, see Individual therapy.
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