Understanding mechanisms of change in ISTDP - a webinar with Pejman Hoviatdoost

Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is an evidence-based treatment effective in treating a broad range of psychological problems. However, the underlying mechanisms of change in ISTDP are not well understood. In this talk with Pejman Hoviatdoost, he discusses the topic of mechanisms of change in ISTDP.
The overarching aim of Pejman's dissertation published earlier this year (2022) was to shed some light on the underlying mechanisms of change in ISTDP. This research program comprised three consecutive studies that aimed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms of change in ISTDP by:
(a) critically evaluating the literature on mechanisms of change in ISTDP (doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychoth...,
(b) exploring new ways of operationalizing and identifying instances of unlocking in process-driven research, by measuring inter-rater reliability and exploring the potential use of a rating scale (a test metric developed in this research) (doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychoth...) and
(c) conducting a detailed exploration of the process of change in early phases of treatment of four single cases, exploring the impact of unlocking and defense restructuring as core therapeutic constructs, in the process of treatment.
This presentation provides an overview of the dissertation on the mechanisms of change in Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and an in-depth discussion on the topic.
About the presenter:
Pejman Hoviatdoost is an Iranian-Australian clinical psychologist (PhD) with more than 12 years of experience practicing within the ISTDP framework. Pejman is one of Australia's leading ISTDP practitioners and educators, dedicated to learning, practicing, and teaching ISTDP. You can find his dissertation here: eprints.qut.edu.au/232623/1/P...
About the host:
The Malmö Center for ISTDP is a hub in southern Sweden for events, courses and research on ISTDP. Follow us on Facebook: / malmoeistdp
Content:
00:00 Introductions
08:50 The contextual model of change in psychotherapy
11:50 Research on ISTDP
12:55 ISTDP theory basics
16:10 Aim of Pejman's dissertation: mechanisms of change
21:28 Study 2: Operationalisation of the "unlocking"
28:37 Study 3: Mechanisms of change in naturalistic setting
34:53 Conclusions
36:10 Q&A