What I Couldn’t Tell My Therapist:

The Training

Training Description

This training provides a brief introduction to Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). At its foundation, ISTDP is based on the understanding that unconscious feelings generate anxiety, which in turn triggers defenses that sustain psychological symptoms. The therapeutic task involves identifying and addressing these defenses, restructuring, increasing affect tolerance, and helping patients face and process underlying emotions that have long been avoided. By doing so, patients experience structural character change and symptom relief. Originally developed by Habib Davanloo, M.D., ISTDP introduced non-interpretive interventions that help patients develop self-observation, tolerate anxiety, relinquish defenses, and access core emotional conflicts.

In this training, Michelle M. May, LPC will show a case from her book, What I Couldn't Tell My Therapist, which showcases the power of Intensive Dynamic Psychotherapy through intertwined treatments of three patients: Walter, Emma, and herself. The focus of her presentation will be on Walter, a 55-year-old man referred to her after a decade-long failed therapy that didn't help him with depression and habitual cannabis use since the age of nine. Through video examples, she will guide participants through clinical decision making based on his response to interventions as well as the various stages of Walter's therapeutic alliance and journey. This case serves as a valuable example of the power of intensive dynamic therapy, emphasizing the importance of respecting autonomy and cultivating strong therapeutic alliances—both conscious and unconscious. The narrative underscores the significance of helping patients confront the inevitable pain of loss often brought on by personal growth.

This training is designed for mental health professionals seeking to enhance their clinical effectiveness by deepening their understanding of unconscious processes, resistance, and the therapeutic use of emotional experience all while maintaining flexibility in their therapeutic approach.

This training can include an experiential component in which participants will engage in reflective practices to identify and monitor their own defensive processes and anxiety responses as they relate to learning. This self-observational work is designed to deepen students’ emotional awareness, enhance their capacity for affect tolerance, and promote greater openness to the learning process.

Presenter Biography

Michelle M. May, LPC, is the chair of the Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) Core Training program at the New Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington, DC.

She is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in intensive dynamic therapy with a private practice for adult individuals and couples in Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, DC. She is a Certified Teacher and Supervisor by the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association (IEDTA) and a board-approved supervisor with the state of Virginia. She is a sought-after teacher and supervisor, specifically focusing on presenting to practices and supervising licensed clinicians with an interest in intensive dynamic therapies.

Michelle is also the author of the new book, What I Couldn’t Tell My Therapist and the upcoming book from Routledge, The Conscious Therapeutic Alliance: A Framework for Building Transformative Relationships.

Michelle is passionate about educating professionals and the public about intensive dynamic therapy and provides trainings to health practices, organizations, and universities seeking to learn about mental health and intensive dynamic therapies.

Training Specifics

CEs, Cost, Location, Date, and Time
Based on group request. (Partial CEs are not available. While MDs can attend, CEs are not available for MDs.)

Target Audience
Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFTs, Psychiatrists, Nurses

Course Content Level
Beginner to advanced

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Learning Objectives

  1. Describe the relationship between anxiety, defenses, and symptoms.

  2. Learn to recognize the three pathways of anxiety discharge

  3. Explain how to help clients identify their defenses, understand how they function, and how they connect to the presenting problem.

FAQs

  • You need to be a student, pre-licensed professional (resident), or licensed medical or mental health professional to attend.

  • No.

  • No.

  • CEs can be available. If you are a medical professional, unfortunately you can’t receive these CEs.

  • No.

  • Yes.

  • Either are available depending on your needs.

  • No. Due to sharing video tapes of session content, only health professionals-in-training or health professionals can join.

Additional Information

Conflicts of Interest: There is no known commercial interest or conflict of interest for this program.

Cancellation Policy: If for any reason you need to cancel, please contact me so we can work together to determine a resolution.

Grievance Policy: We seek to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances fairly. Please email me with your written grievance. Grievances would receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action to prevent further problems.

ADA Needs: If you have any special requests, please email Michelle at maymichellem@gmail.com

CE and Commercial Support: Michelle M. May, LPC, LLC nor CUE Management Solutions, LLC does not have a relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.

Continuing Education: CUE Management Solutions, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CUE Management Solutions, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CUE Management Solutions, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0242.