Allan Abbass
Allan Abbass, MD
Halifax, Canada
Morning Session Friday July 16th, 2010
“Davanloo’s ISTDP: Following the Unconscious Therapeutic Alliance to the Primitive Core of the Highly Resistant Depressed Patient”
Davanloo has described phases in ISTDP of resistant patients including the phase of Repeated Unlocking of the Unconscious. In this phase rage and primitive rage and guilt are experienced directly in the therapy sessions and in between sessions. The unconscious therapeutic alliance is in a dominant position and the work can proceed rapidly. In this session, Dr Abbass will demonstrate this process with a treatment session from a highly resistant patients with depression and somatization and characterological problems. The relief brought about by working through such material will also be illustrated.
Dr Allan Abbass is currently a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, Director of Psychiatric Education and founding Director of the Centre for Emotions and Health at Dalhousie University.
He completed medicine at Dalhousie, Family Medicine at McGill and Psychiatry residency at University of Toronto. He is a leading teacher and researcher in the area of Davanloo’s Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy. He provides ISTDP training programs to local and International audiences in the area of anxiety, depression, somatic disorders and personality disorders. He has received a number of teaching awards including a national teaching award in Psychiatry. His recent research includes a randomized trial of ISTDP for personality disorders and several systematic reviews including the Cochrane Review of Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for common mental disorders.