In this project we aim to develop and establish the validity of a new psychodiagnostic self-report questionnaire for psychotherapy patients receiving Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP).

Mikkel Eielsen is a medical doctor undertaking a specialization to become a psychiatrist and has completed a three year Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) education at The Norwegian Institute for Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (NI-ISTDP). Mikkel’s areas of interest include short-term dynamic therapy, chronic depression, emotions in therapy, deliberate practice and therapist training.

About the Project

This project will make use of expert psychodiagnostic evaluations and self-report data on fragility, repression, resistance, syntonic defenses and self-observing capacity from a newly developed ISTDP psychodiagnostic questionnaire. The study aims to

1) explore differences between fragile and resistant patients and the subgroup of these psychodiagnostic categories and investigate whether we can determine cut off scores for each psychodiagnostic category.

2) The study aims to explore potential underlying factors in the ISTDP psychodiagnostic self-report questionnaire. The goal is to understand more about the different psychodiagnostic subgroups of patients in ISTDP. This knowledge can be used to detect subgroups of patients with unique complexities and characteristics, who then again can have their treatment personalized according to their specific psychological functioning.

This project will make use of data collected from Norsk Psykologklinikk’s three specialized ISTDP outpatient clinics and the depression unit at Modum Bad. Modum Bad is responsible for the data collection and administration of the questionnaire.

Objectives

The project’s objectives are to acquire knowledge regarding the different psychodiagnostic subgroups of patients in ISTDP. This knowledge can be used to detect subgroups of patients with unique complexities and characteristics, who then again can have their treatment personalized according to their specific psychological functioning.

Results

No results published so far. But results from a naturalistic pilot study exploring the differences between fragile and resistant patients in ISTDP indicate that

• Fragile patients on measures of symptoms and interpersonal problems in general experience more psychological distress than resistant patients
• Specifically fragile patients suffer from more somatization as well as anxiety, phobic anxiety and psychoticism
• The findings fit well with ISTDP theory on psychodiagnostic differences between the two patient groups

Background

The project is part of a doctoral research project that began in 2017. The project uses data from the Unit for Depressive Disorders at Modum Bad and Norsk Psykologklinikk’s three specialized ISTDP outpatient clinics. At the depression unit the patients receive ISTDP treatment for their chronic depression. The treatment is inpatient and lasts approximately 10 weeks. The treatment length at Norsk Psykologklinikk’s three specialized ISTDP outpatient clinics, varies according to patient needs.

All patients were recruited between May 2022 – July 2023 and all data was collected anonymously as directly identifying information was never obtained.

Funding

The project is internally funded by Modum Bad.

Collaboration

Allan Abbass, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University

Filip Myhre, Specialist in Clinical Psychology, The Norwegian Institute for Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (NI-ISTDP).

Tools

The study uses data collected at start of treatment at Norsk Psykologklinikk’s three specialized ISTDP outpatient clinics as well as data collected at start and end of treatment at the depression unit, Modum Bad.

Contact Information

Project Manager: Pål Ulvenes, PhD, Clinical Psychologist Specialist and Head of Department at Modum Bad

Project Contact: Mikkel Eielsen

You can also reach us through the Modum Bad telephone service: 32 74 97 00.

Project team at Modum Bad

Project participants

Linne Melsom, Clinical Psychologist, Ph.D. Candidate, Modum Bad 

Pål G Ulvenes, Clinical Psychologist, PhD, Head of Department, Modum Bad, Supervisor 

Ole Andre Solbakken, Clinical Psychologist, PhD, University of Oslo, Co-Supervisor 

Mikkel Eielsen, Medical Doctor, Ph.D. Candidate, Modum Bad 

Bruce Wampold, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin 

Publications

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915323001774