ISTDP ᵐᵃᵍ

What do we mean by the triangle of conflict? It’s a concept that guides all interventions in ISTDP. So let’s start with our understanding of causality. We understand that a stimulus occurs in life, e.g., a man has an affair, and his wife finds out. In response to that stimulus, she has a feeling (anger). This feeling triggers anxiety in her body. And in response to that feeling and anxiety, the woman uses a defense to ward off her feeling and anxiety. This is important because defenses cause the symptoms and presenting problems patients bring to treatment. In other words, when you diagnose the patient, you will then want to find out what defenses create the symptoms that comprise her diagnosis.