Grief is a normal response to loss, but it can be overwhelming and difficult to cope with. Fortunately, the tools of ISTDP can help you work through your grief in a healthy and meaningful way.
ISTDP is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and working through the underlying emotional issues that can contribute to chronic depression, anxiety, and unresolved grief. By applying the techniques of ISTDP, you can understand and process your grief in order to overcome it. In this article, we will discuss how ISTDP can help you work through your grief.
How can ISTDP help with grief?
Grieving is a natural process that one goes through after experiencing a significant loss.
However, when grief persists for a prolonged period, it can have debilitating effects on our physical, mental, and emotional health.
In such cases, seeking therapy is essential to help one navigate the grieving process and emerge on the other side stronger and healthier.
ISTDP works by helping clients identify and understand their underlying emotions and the defence mechanisms they are currently using to stop themselves from fully expressing them. This approach acknowledges that emotions are not just something that one can think through, but they are something that needs to be processed and released and felt physically within the body.
The therapist guides the client in identifying and processing their emotions, which helps in the gradual release of grief.
Additionally, ISTDP techniques can help clients overcome the defensive mechanisms they may have developed as a way of coping with the loss.
These defences could include repression, denial, or avoidance. By addressing these defences, ISTDP allows clients to process their emotions more effectively and healthily.
Overall, ISTDP provides a supportive environment that helps individuals process their grief, express their emotions, and eventually overcome their loss.
What are some specific techniques?
There are a variety of techniques that ISTDP practitioners can use to help individuals experiencing grief.
One common technique is called "affect modulation," which involves helping the person regulate their emotions in a way that allows them to feel and express their grief in a more healthy and productive way, without suppression, or becoming overwhelmed by the experience of the feeling.
Another technique is called "experiential focus," which involves guiding the person to focus on their current emotional experience rather than getting caught up in thoughts or stories about the past.
This technique can help individuals avoid becoming stuck in their grief and instead begin to process and move through it, in the session with the therapist.
Ultimately, the specific techniques used in ISTDP therapy will depend on the individual's needs and experiences. The way this is done is through an accurate and precise observation of the person's emotions, the conscious and unconscious mechanisms they currently use to manage them and the way that they relate to the therapist.
By mapping this out within the therapy, the therapist is able to work with the individual to optimally help them work through their grief.
How do I know if it's working?
It's natural to wonder if your efforts to overcome grief using ISTDP techniques are actually making a difference.
The truth is, it can take some time to see the full benefits of ISTDP therapy, as the process can be gradual. However, there are some signs that can indicate that it's working.
Firstly, you may find yourself feeling less overwhelmed by your grief. While you may still experience moments of sadness, you may also start to notice more moments of peace and calm.
You may also find that you're able to focus on other areas of your life, such as work or hobbies, more easily than before.
Another indication that ISTDP is working is that you may start to gain a deeper understanding of your grief.
By working through the emotions and thoughts that come up during therapy, you may start to recognize patterns in your thinking or behaviour that contribute to your grief.
This increased self-awareness can be empowering, as it allows you to make positive changes in your life.