Mindful ISTDP

It can be overwhelming to start as a new therapist, and to know where to look for training. Join us in May to gain foundational trans-theoretical skill training to grow your confidence and effectiveness as a therapist. Register: https://hubs.ly/Q03dR_qq0

Thank you, clinical social workers for the important and life-changing work you do every day. We see and appreciate you! Happy Social Work Month from Mindful ISTDP.

How often do you review your sessions, or practice your clinical skills? If you are new to self-supervision, pay attention to which clients stir up anxiety in you. If you can, write down what was occurring by capturing a quick note during session, or journal immediately after the session so you don’t forget. Then, consider the following questions: How did anxiety impact your interventions? What did it have you move away from? What did you not say? Finally, practice saying the response/intervention that you would know to use if you weren’t anxious. This practice will help you build confidence in your skills and be in control of your anxiety, rather than anxiety controlling you! The best therapists are committed to practicing and building on their clinical skills. To support this, we offer a one-year weekly training program, The Psychotherapy Institute, that teaches trans-theoretical clinical skills to increase your effectiveness and enjoyment of therapy. Learn more at https://hubs.li/Q036B-lf0.

Defense mechanisms are automatic, unconscious avoidance behaviors to move away from feelings, reactions, impulses, and desires. Do you notice the defenses your clients use? It can be hard to identify them, as many are subtle and are disguised as real feelings. If you’re less experienced in working with defenses, it can be helpful to have a reference guide and slowly learn them over time. There are many lists of defense mechanisms you can find online. As a practice, pick out one that you are less familiar with and try observing this defense over the next week of sessions. When you notice this client response to your intervention, write it down. After session, think about how you could address it next time to help them face what they are avoiding. Say the response out loud to help build your confidence for using this intervention in your next session. For additional helpful information, you could consider noticing what defenses you recognize in yourself. As therapists, we bring our own social conditioning to the therapy, which means we also use defense mechanisms to avoid things that make us anxious in therapy with our clients. Noticing our own defenses will help us consciously turn against them to stay connected with our client, and ultimately improve our outcomes in therapy with our clients. If you’d like to become more aware of your anxiety and defenses, join our 3-part series, Anxiety Class for Therapists, starting 2/24. https://hubs.li/Q036BXp60

Are you a new clinician facing self-doubt and low confidence? You are not alone, and there is a cure to this experience. Join us to learn how to overcome imposter syndrome to find your courage and joy as a therapist.

Suicide risk assessment is an important element of therapy, but after you determine their risk level, what do you do next? This is the question we will be answering in this training, empowering you with tools to resolve suicidal ideation by treating the root causes driving it. Register at https://hubs.li/Q035c1l90

It’s happened to all of us. We are midway through a session and suddenly you think, “wait – what are we working on again?” You probably ask yourself if you have missed something and try to review the last 30 minutes, maybe even the last 2-3 sessions in your mind. This can be very stressful and confusing for a therapist. #ISTDP provides a roadmap when you find yourself feeling lost or stuck in therapy. Through this lens, here are some questions to ask yourself about the therapy: Have you identified an internal emotional problem? Have you established client’s will to work together on the problem? Is there a positive goal in client’s words that is highly motivating? Are you working in a specific example? Are you exploring feelings toward others? Is anxiety regulated? Are you seeing signaling? Is there an understanding of therapeutic task? Is client resisting emotional closeness in the therapy? If these questions are new to you, this is because ISTDP offers a specific, unique, and powerful way of addressing client symptoms and co-creating a successful therapy. If you’d like to learn more about these elements of therapy, join us at our Foundational Therapist Training. Our next two sessions are scheduled over Zoom on Friday, January 31st from 12:30-4:30pm EST, and May 9th from 12:30-4:30pm, EST.

Mindful ISTDP was an exhibitor at the #KevinsSong Conference last week. Our team had the pleasure of talking with clinicians, school professionals, and administrators about the the power of ISTDP to prevent suicide by addressing the root cause of suicidal ideation. Thank you for having us! We are excited for next year’s conference. ??

Did you know that burnout as a therapist is often linked to our unregulated and unconscious anxiety? If you are struggling with compassion fatigue or burnout, invest in your wellbeing and professional growth by attending our Anxiety Class for Therapists. Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q0337Svv0

Therapists new to the field often experience imposter syndrome. This mechanism creates self-doubt, which impacts your focus and confidence in your work. If this sounds like you, join us to learn how to resolve this from within, and discover the joy of therapy. Register here: https://hubs.li/Q032PfG00