Learning: A hero’s journey
Returning to the Foundations: My Ongoing Journey with ISTDP
As a psychotherapist deeply rooted in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), I’ve come to see that learning this model is less about memorizing interventions and more about evolving as a person. Each layer of training, each supervision, and each patient encounter reveals something new: about human nature, emotional truth, and myself. Recently, reading Ange Cooper’s interview “I Am My Patient, They Are Me” reignited my reflection on what it means to return to the foundations of this work with humility and heart.
The Humbling Gift of Returning to Basics
Returning to the foundations of anything you’ve spent years learning can be humbling. When I revisit early ISTDP teachings or case discussions, I hear concepts differently. What once felt theoretical now resonates in lived experience. Sometimes I find myself surprised by a quiet mastery, an understanding that has integrated into my way of being without me noticing. Revisiting the basics offers a mirror: it shows both how far I’ve come and where I still have room to deepen. I will be starting 2026 off in a 12 week training for clinicians interested in ISTDP, a training completely foundational by nature. This will be a review for me, but I will undoubtedly walk away with new knowledge and understanding. I also discuss this on the Coming Home Podcast with my colleague Elise here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/28-exploring-defenses-self-compassion-and-the/id1592842525?i=1000676533928
The Shifting Focus of Attention
In my early years of ISTDP training, most of my attention went toward building and balancing the therapeutic alliances—conscious and unconscious—and clarifying defenses. My internal checklist was long, and I was often preoccupied with doing things “right.” These days, my obsession has shifted toward speaking directly to resistance, as well as the use of powerful language. There is something profound about those moments when a client’s resistance emerges: a living expression of both protection and longing. Engaging it directly feels like standing at the threshold of transformation, where the old ways of surviving meet the possibility of deeper living.
The Phases of Learning—and the Humility of Being Human
Like Dr. Cooper, I’ve gone through phases in my ISTDP journey where I doubted myself completely. I wondered if I would ever reach the level of therapeutic depth I read about in training materials. But those humbling periods reminded me of something crucial: it’s never just about the method. It’s about the person in front of you and the person of the therapist.
The work begins when my true self meets the true self of the client. That meeting will always look different from another therapist’s, and that’s exactly as it should be. When two genuine human beings come together in truth, the results, however uniquely shaped, can be powerful and deeply healing.
Continuing the Work
ISTDP is not a destination; it’s a lifelong practice of noticing, feeling, and staying honest. Each session invites me to return to the basics: presence, curiosity, and courage. Reading Dr. Cooper’s reflections was a reminder that mastery is not about technique, it’s about humanity. It’s about being willing to meet another person at the most intimate edge of truth, again and again.