ISTDP was developed by Dr Habib Davanloo of McGill University and since its conception it has been taught extensively worldwide as part of multiple education courses. Relevant research has been and is still being carried out, particularly at the Centre for Emotions and Health in Halifax, Canada. The ISTDP method requires that the therapist be especially active during sessions, trying to aid and encourage the patient to overcome their defences, perceive and experience their emotions. It is intensive, as it involves substantial mobilisation of the patient by the therapist, and is shorter in duration.
The aim of ISTDP is for the patient to manage to experience all of their repressed emotions – which are frequently activated, tormenting them in the process and compromising their daily lives and relationships – and simultaneously to create a structural shift in their character and personality; by being increasingly able to tolerate the anxiety generated by their emotions, as well as by feeling better with themselves and others, the client succeeds in improving their interpersonal relationships. This results in a positive effect on their performance at work and their relationships, thus rendering the patient more able to derive joy and satisfaction from daily activities.
As mentioned above, the aim of the therapist and the therapy is to help the patient experience all of the emotions experienced during their childhood due to trauma. Other goals might be the development of anxiety tolerance or the ability to better perceive and recognise physical sensations and their significance, as those are directly linked to their emotions. Once anxiety tolerance has been built, the person can safely begin to experience their emotions. The latter is of particular importance, as such unconscious processes (anxiety and defence mechanisms) may affect body systems such as the gastrointestinal system, the respiratory system, the autoimmune system, the muscular or cardiovascular systems.
More specifically, ISTDP may be applied to:
Emotional disorders such as depression and dysthymia. It also has applications on bipolar disorder, which however needs to be in a state of stabilised, medical control. In such cases, ISTDP may help reduce relapses and number and dosage of medications. It can be used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, panic disorders with or without agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, dissociative disorders such as hysteria, body dysmorphic disorders such as the so-called psychosomatic disorders, hypochondriasis etc. ISTDP may also aid individuals with personality disorders, who struggle with their sense of self and their interpersonal relationships. It may be applied to eating disorders, such as psychogenic anorexia and bulimia, in medically controlled, stabilised psychoses, provided, however, that an inordinate rise in anxiety levels does not take place. In the above cases, the use of ISTDP may help reduce relapses, as well as the number and dosage of medications, and improve patient functionality.