How Does ISTDP Support Healing from Depression?

If you’re struggling with depression, you’re not alone—and if you’re feeling stuck despite trying different things, you’re really not alone. Many people walk around carrying what feels like an invisible weight, unsure of where it came from or how to let it go. That’s where ISTDP—Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy—can come in, offering a unique, deeply human way of helping you heal at the root.

Let’s talk about how.

First, what is ISTDP?

ISTDP isn’t your typical talk therapy. It’s an emotion-focused, relational approach that helps people get to the heart of their emotional pain—especially when it’s tangled up in unconscious patterns or defense mechanisms that formed long ago, often in childhood.

In depression, people often shut down painful feelings like anger, grief, or longing, without even realizing it. ISTDP helps gently uncover those emotions and bring them to the surface, so they can finally be processed rather than buried.

This isn’t about analyzing yourself into circles—it’s about feeling what was once too painful to feel, in the presence of someone safe and attuned.

Meet Sarah: “I just feel numb all the time.”

Sarah was a high-functioning 32-year-old with a solid job, friends, and a quiet sense of despair that followed her everywhere. “I guess I should be happy,” she’d say in our early sessions, “but I just feel... blank. Like I’m not really living.”

In ISTDP, instead of rushing to change the numbness, we got curious about it. What might the numbness be protecting her from? What feelings were too much to bear?

Over time, Sarah began to connect with memories of childhood—how she learned to suppress anger and sadness to keep peace at home. Slowly, with compassion, we uncovered a deep well of grief she had never been allowed to express.

The moment she cried—really cried—for the first time in years, something shifted. It wasn’t a dramatic movie scene, but it was real. That numbness began to thaw. Over the weeks that followed, her energy and curiosity about life returned. It wasn’t magic—it was honest emotional work, finally allowed to unfold.

Depression as a Protective Mechanism

This might sound surprising, but in ISTDP, depression is often seen not as the enemy—but as a signal. A clue. A form of inner protection that worked once, but is now keeping you stuck.

That fatigue? That lack of joy? Those things might be defenses against underlying emotional pain—maybe rage you were never allowed to feel, or sadness that had nowhere to go. ISTDP helps you listen to those signals and respond in a new way: not with avoidance, but with presence and care.

Another Story: David and the Quiet Grief

David, a soft-spoken man in his late 40s, came to therapy after years of on-and-off depression. He said it felt like he was always walking through fog.

He didn’t think much of his childhood—“nothing dramatic,” he said—but as we explored, he began to recall how often he had to be the “strong one” when his mother was struggling with her own mental health. He was praised for being “mature for his age,” but it came at a cost: he learned to silence his own needs and sadness.

In session, as David began to reconnect with that long-ignored sadness, something opened up in him. For the first time, he felt seen—not just for what he had done for others, but for what he had gone through.

This emotional reconnection didn’t just lift the fog; it helped David feel real again. Like he was coming back to life.

Why ISTDP Can Be So Powerful for Depression

Unlike some forms of therapy that stay on the surface or focus just on managing symptoms, ISTDP dives deeper—but always at your pace. It combines fierce compassion with precision, helping you:

• Identify unconscious defenses (like avoidance, detachment, self-criticism)

• Gently access buried emotions

• Understand how early relationships shaped your emotional habits

• Break the cycle of depression at its root

And here’s the key: this work happens in relationship. That means your therapist is with you every step of the way—not as a distant observer, but as an engaged, emotionally present partner in your healing.

Looking for ISTDP therapy?

I offer one-to-one sessions in person from my office in Nottingham, as well as online. If you're curious about how this can help you then feel free to get in touch.