Core Training

The European Core Training in ISTDP 2024 is being formed in collaboration with ISTDP Portugal, taught by Julie Cochrane and Johannes Ermagan, with special guest trainer, Jon Frederickson: A three-year journey of learning and personal growth. 

You will find information here about the European Core Training 2024. Please ask if you have further questions now or at any stage during the application process. 

For administrative issues, please contact Ruby at Ruby@dynamicpsychotherapy.com.au 

For issues directly relating to the content of the training, please contact Julie Cochrane at juliecochrane@istdp.com.au or Johannes Ermagan at j.ermagan@gmail.com

Structure of the Training 

The Core Training in a three-year training that consists of four x three-day blocks of training each year, and monthly group 

supervision by Zoom. Each block of training has a specific focus, as outlined: 

Block 1 - Introduction to ISTDP 

Block 2 - Anxiety 

Block 3 - Defenses 

Block 4 - Maintaining an Effective Therapeutic Focus/The 

Therapeutic Alliance 

Block 5 - Fragility 

Block 6 - Repression 

Block 7 - High Resistance in Isolation of Affect 

Block 8 - Ego Deficits 

Block 9 - Somatisation 

Block 10 - Transference Resistance 

Block 11 - Head On Collision and Unlocking the Unconscious 

Block 12 - Working Through, Consolidation and Termination 

Dates and times for Year One Blocks 

Block One: 11 - 13 January 2024 (Lisbon Portugal)

Block Two: 20 - 22 April 2024 

Block Three: 15 - 17 August 2024

Supervision 

You will partake in monthly group supervision via Zoom with Julie Cochrane or Johannes Ermagan. The group is divided into two groups for supervision, with five people in each group. Each group meets nine times a year for 110 minutes per meeting. 

At each 110-minute group supervision, three out of the five people in the group will present a case for supervision. When presenting at group supervision you will complete a case formulation and email it to the supervisor the day before you present your case. Supervision is always online via Zoom. You are expected to attend all of your supervisions, whether you are presenting or not. You pay for each of your scheduled supervisions, whether you attend or not. You are also welcome to attend the supervision of the other group and you do not pay if you attend the supervision of the other group.

Year One 

Lectures, videotaped demonstrations of the theory and technique of ISTDP, skill building exercises, and role plays, will be the focus of the first year of training. During the first year, students will learn the dynamic theory of the unconscious, as well as being versed in attachment theory, emotion theory, and the latest research on neurobiology with specific application to the therapeutic process. The major goals of the first year will be to become familiar with the theory and the basic technique of ISTDP and assessment, accurate psychodiagnosis across the spectrum of psychopathology, and the treatment of patients with low to moderate levels of resistance. You will learn anxiety assessment and regulation, basic defence identification and 

intervention, using the Triangles of Conflict and Person in assessment and treatment, maintaining a therapeutic focus, and building a therapeutic alliance. From Block Two of training to the end of the course, participants will present videos of their work for supervision at each block of training. The monthly supervision group, by Zoom, will commence after block one and will further the trainees’ individual practice of ISTDP as you present your own work for supervision and observe the work and supervision of your colleagues.

Year Two and Three 

In Year Two we focus on working with patients who psychodiagnostically are within the system of fragility and the system of repression including patients with ego deficits, depression, somatisation and panic disorder. Starting in Year Two and continuing in Year Three, we focus on high resistance with isolation of affect and continue the task of effectively working with transference resistance including in highly resistant patients. Special topics, such as chronic pain, pathological mourning and dealing with pathological guilt will be addressed. By the final block of training, you will present a ‘graduation 

video’ of videotaped excerpts of an entire therapy, from the initial session through to the termination. 

Readings 

Readings and additional training materials and tasks will be assigned for each block of training.

Assessment 

Participants are required to show progress during the three- year course. Specific plans and recommendations will be provided to address any specific areas of difficulty in learning. The ‘Graduation Video’ is used to assess the participant's 

understanding of theory and capacity to apply theory and technique in an effective way to achieve change with ISTDP. 

Commitment 

A three-year commitment is required to apply for this course. While your own psychotherapy is not a requirement, it is encouraged 

Fees 

The cost per year for the four annual blocks of training is 800 Euros per block. You may apply to pay in quarterly instalments 

rather than at the start of the year. 

The fee for the monthly Zoom supervision session is 75 Euros per 110-minute group session. 

Participants are expected to pay for all blocks of training including blocks that they do not attend and make arrangements to cover any material missed. Deposits are non-refundable unless refunded because you apply but do not receive a place in a Core Training or if a Core Training does not proceed due to insufficient numbers

Location 

This is a Portugal-based Core Training. At least one block per year will be held in Portugal. A second block per year will be held in either Portugal or another European location depending on the locations of group members. Up to two blocks a year 

will be held via Zoom. 

Application 

If you wish to apply for Core Training in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, please request an application form 

and return with your CV and deposit of 400 Euro which will be deducted from your fees for year one. If you receive a place in 

the training you will be asked to pay the remaining 2800 Euro for year one, a fortnight before the training commences (or 

according to the pre-arranged instalment plan). If your application is unsuccessful, you will receive a full refund of fees paid within three days of providing details for the refund 

Certification 

On successful completion of the three-year program, you are acknowledged as having completed a Core Training in ISTDP certified by the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association (IEDTA) and recognised by The ISTDP Institute, ISTDP Australia, and ISTDP Portugal.

About Your Trainers

Julie Cochrane is a Clinical Psychologist who has been practicing ISTDP for over 26 years, introducing it to Australia. She completed Core Training and Advanced Training in Stockholm, Sweden, and has also completed a 3.5-year Teacher Training course in ISTDP. Julie is the Director of Dynamic Psychotherapy in Carlton (Melbourne), which has over 28 therapists fully 

trained, or in training, in ISTDP and offers individual therapy to adults, adolescents and children, and couples therapy. 

Julie teaches and supervises ISTDP in Australia and internationally, including mental health professionals in New Zealand, India, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Portugal and Turkey.

Johannes Ermagan is a Licensed Psychologist, ISTDP Therapist and Supervisor. In addition to working almost a decade in Adult Psychiatry, Johannes has his own private practice. He lectures and trains in ISTDP in Sweden and internationally, and is in charge of ISTDP training within government-funded psychiatry. Johannes has undergone Core Training in Sweden with Tobias Nordqvist and Peter Lilliengren, and has participated in Advanced supervision and training under Jon Frederickson over the past 7 years.

Jon Frederickson, MSW, is on the faculty of the Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) Training Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. Jon has provided ISTDP training in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, India, Iran, Australia, Canada, the U.S., and the Netherlands. He is the author of over fifty published papers and four books, Co-Creating Change: Effective Dynamic Therapy Techniques, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Learning to Listen from Multiple Perspectives, The Lies We Tell Ourselves, and Co-Creating Safety: healing the fragile patient. His book, Co-Creating Change, won the first prize in psychiatry in 2014 at the British Medical Association Book Awards, and it has been published in Farsi, Polish, and Slovak, and is currently being translated into Hebrew and Spanish. His book The Lies We Tell Ourselves has been published in Polish, Farsi, Norwegian, and Danish, and is currently being translated into German. He has DVDs of actual sessions with patients who previously failed in therapy at his websites www.istdpinstitute.com and 

www.deliberatepracticeinpsychotherapy.com There you will also find skill-building exercises designed for therapists. He writes posts on ISTDP at www.facebook.com/DynamicPsychotherapy 

João Ferreira is facilitating this training and is a Clinical Psychologist inPortugal. He was formerly trained as a Psychoanalyst 

and then had training in other models such as EMDR, AEDP and IFS before finding ISTDP. He has completed Core Training and Advanced Training with Jon Frederickson and has also benefited from training with other teachers including Allan Abbass. João primarily works with adults and adolescents in private practice. He is in the Training for Trainers with Jon Frederickson, and formed ISTDP Portugal to further build an ISTDP community in Portugal and to facilitate trainings for Portuguese therapists and therapists in other European locations.