The following two-year-long course aims to provide an immersive and rich learning experience for clinicians interested in deepening their knowledge of ISTDP and working on their own internal obstacles to effectively implementing treatment. This training group will offer an advanced curriculum on the fundamental aspects of ISTDP methods, including heavy emphasis on effective management of resistance, broad usage of head-on collision modules, determining the direction of pressure, the balance between pressure and challenge, and optimizing the four pillars of the alliance over their counterforces of resistance. In addition, the supervision is heavily person-centered, meaning examination of transference and countertransference dynamics in therapist-patient, and supervisor-supervisee, parallel patterns.
As the training sessions are focused on the person of the therapist, trainees can expect to have their unconscious mobilized during the training blocks. Each trainee will decide how open they want to be, but involvement in the training means an understanding that emphasis will be placed on emotional closeness and openness amongst the group. Given the personal nature of these groups, all members are required to respect strict rules of confidentiality.
The training is organized as four blocks of 3 days of immersive training emphasizing experiential learning. See below for more details about location.
NB: A one-year commitment is necessary, with an optional second year
About the course
Extensive theoretical and practical knowledge is required to apply ISTDP in a skillful way. But even more than that, emotional flexibility. This program includes teaching and guidance with the aim of increasing participants’ theoretical knowledge, practical therapeutic precision, and emotional attunement. The course will cover basic and advanced applications of the central techniques of working with patients across the psychodiagnostic spectra.
The course is heavily focused on helping clinicians develop their emotional capacities to apply pressure and challenge effectively, as well as attune to their clients. This entails examination of the trainee’s own triangle of conflict dynamics, as they are activated in their clinical work and supervision.
Course goals
Upon completion of the course, participants are expected to have acquired an advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of resistance work within the framework of ISTDP. In addition, participants will have further developed their own capacity to apply ISTDP with increased emotional flexibility and closeness.
Target audience
The course is for clinically active therapists who have some experience with ISTDP.
Course structure
The first year of the course consists of four 3-day in-person modules that will take place in Malmö, Sweden and Rome, Italy (see schedule below for locations and dates). Each module consists of a 3-day meeting (Thursday-Saturday every three months). Daily meetings begin at 9am and end at 5pm CET, and include a 60 minute lunch break and multiple coffee breaks.
For each block, there will be a mix of teaching and supervision. During supervision, group members will each take a turn presenting a current clinical problem they would like help with, usually with the aid of a video-recorded session of their choosing. Supervisions are 75 minutes: the first 60 minutes will be one-to-one supervision, followed by 15 minutes of group discussion. The supervisions will be experiential as well as technical, and involve exploration of the therapist’s own triangle of conflict and how their own resistance affects their work. The last 15 minutes with the group are not a time to critique the supervision but rather to further explore dynamic or technical issues relevant to the supervision.
Teaching will consist of a deep exploration and discussion of the supervision sessions, didactic presentations and audiovisual case presentations demonstrating ISTDP techniques and principles.
Dates for Year 1
February 26-28, 2026 (in-person in Malmö) May 14-16, 2026 (in-person in Malmö) September 10-12, 2026 (in-person in Malmö) December 3-5, 2026 (in person in Rome)
Dates for Year 2 will be decided together as a group.
Cost
The cost for this program is $5000 USD per year of training. This includes four 3-day in-person modules. Payments are made quarterly, $1250 due before each in-person module. The first payment of $1250 is due at the time of registration and can be made directly to Jonathan Entis via paypal (drjonathanentis@gmail.com) by selecting “Friends and Family” or via wire transfer. If making payment via wire transfer, please contact Jonathan for bank details. Any transfer fees need to be paid by the sender.
Teachers
Main teacher. Jonathan Entis, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. He is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where he teaches and supervises. He is an IEDTA-certified supervisor in ISTDP and has presented both nationally and internationally. Jonathan has led and continues to lead multiple international training groups in ISTDP, including ones based in Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and the States. He is also a co-author with John Rathauser and Mikkel Reher-Langberg on the upcoming book, Fundamentals of Davanloo’s Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, Volume I.
Assistant teacher. Thomas Hesslow is a clinical psychologist and ISTDP therapist. He’s one of the founders of the Swedish ISTDP Institute. He provides ISTDP therapy, supervision and training, primarly at the Malmö Center for ISTDP. He also teaches at Lund University and SAPU College in Göteborg. Thomas is an IEDTA-certified teacher and offers core training in Sweden and abroad. He is one of the founders and currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contemporary ISTDP.
Questions
Write to Jonathan Entis (drjonathanentis@gmail.com).
Registration
Here’s the registration form:
