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ISTDP Research

ISTDP has been studied in over 200 outcome studies, including 113 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), across a wide range of conditions.

outcome studies

randomised controlled trials (RCTs)



Click a condition below to view a short research summary and key references.

Anxiety Disorders

36 STUDIES
/
23 RCTS

Depression

20 STUDIES
/
12 RCTS

Personality Difficulties

11 STUDIES

Somatic Symptoms /
Persistent Physical Symptoms

63 STUDIES

Self-harm
& Suicidal Behaviour

3 STUDIES

Severe Mental
Disorders

4 STUDIES

Substance Use

4 STUDIES

Complex / Hard-to-treat Cases

38 STUDIES

Cost & NHS Impact

31 Cost-Effectiveness Studies

Research Shows

  • Reduced Anxiety & Depression
  • Improved Relationships
  • Long-Term Symptom Relief
  • Independant Replications of Results

Evidence quality varies by condition and study type. This page provides a summary, with full references available below.

List of key evidence

Core Handbooks

Mastering Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP): A Roadmap to the Unconscious

Ten Have-De Labije & Neborsky (2012)

Buy Online

The Collected Writings of Robert J. Neborsky, MD, Expanded Edition

A Companion Volume to the Collected Writings of Josette Ten Have-de Labije, PsyD

Buy Online

Hidden From View: A Clinician's Guide to Psychophysiologic Disorders

Allan Abbass, MD | Howard Schubiner, MD

Buy Online


The Collected Writings of Josette Ten Have-de Labije, PsyD

(Expanded Edition)

Buy Online

Abbass, A. (2006). Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression.

Abbass, A. (2006). Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression.

Abbass, A., et al. (2009). ISTDP for medically unexplained symptoms and emergency visits.

Abbass, A., et al. (2010). Emergency department cost savings following ISTDP.

Abbass, A., Sheldon, A., et al. (2008). Randomised trial of ISTDP for personality disorder.

Town, J. M., Abbass, A., et al. (2017). Randomised controlled trial of ISTDP for treatment-resistant depression.

Town, J. M., et al. (2020). Follow-up and cost-effectiveness outcomes of ISTDP.

Lilliengren, P., et al. (2020). ISTDP outcomes and cost changes in chronic pain.

Russell, A., et al. (2016). Reduction in healthcare costs following ISTDP for PNES/functional seizures.

Malda-Castillo, J., et al. (2023). Healthcare reductions following ISTDP for functional seizures.

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Anxiety Disorders

Research base: 36 studies (including 23 RCTs)

Studied in difficulties including: Panic, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, OCD and trauma-related anxiety

What research suggests:

  • Reduced anxiety symptoms
  • Reduced avoidance and fear
  • Improvements maintained at follow-up in some studies

Key references (examples):

  • Wiborg & Dahl (1996) — Panic disorder RCT
  • Lilliengren et al. (2017) — Generalised anxiety outcomes
  • Rahmani et al. (2020) — Social anxiety RCT
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Depression

Research base: 20 studies (including 12 RCTs)

Studied in difficulties including: Major depression and treatment-resistant depression

What research suggests:

  • Reduced depressive symptoms
  • Improvements in emotional processing and coping
  • Some evidence of maintained improvement at follow-up

Key references (examples):

  • Town, Abbass et al. (2017) — RCT in treatment-resistant depression
  • Town et al. (2020) — Follow-up and cost-effectiveness
  • Abbass (2006) — Treatment-resistant depression pilot
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Personality Difficulties

Research base: 11 studies

Studied in difficulties including: Personality disorders and long-standing emotional/interpersonal difficulties

What research suggests:

  • Improvements in symptoms and functioning
  • Changes in long-standing coping patterns
  • Evidence of structural change in some studies

Key references (examples):

  • Abbass, Sheldon et al. (2008) — Personality disorder RCT
  • Cornelissen & Verheul (2002) — Residential ISTDP outcomes
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Somatic Symptoms / Persistent Physical Symptoms

Research base: 63 studies

Studied in difficulties including: Chronic pain, medically unexplained symptoms, and functional symptoms

What research suggests:

  • Reduced physical symptom distress
  • Reduced healthcare use in some studies
  • Improved emotional wellbeing and functioning

Key references (examples):

  • Abbass et al. (2009) — Medically unexplained symptoms & emergency visits
  • Abbass et al. (2010) — Emergency department cost savings
  • Lilliengren et al. (2020) — Chronic pain outcomes & costs
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Self-harm & Suicidal Behaviour

Research base: 3 studies

What research suggests:

  • Early evidence of benefit in high-risk presentations
  • More research is needed
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Substance Use

Research base: 4 studies

What research suggests:

  • Early evidence of benefit in some populations
  • More research is needed
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Complex / Hard-to-treat Cases

Research base: 38 studies

Includes: People who have not responded to previous treatments

What research suggests:

  • Improvements in long-standing difficulties
  • Evidence of benefit in complex clinical populations
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Severe Mental Disorders

Research base: 4 studies

What research suggests:

  • Emerging evidence as an adjunctive treatment
  • More research is needed
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Cost & NHS Impact

Research base: 31 cost-effectiveness studies

What has been measured in studies: Healthcare use including medication, doctor visits, hospital use, and disability rates/costs

What research suggests:

  • Reduced healthcare use in some studies
  • Reduced medication use in some studies
  • Further high-quality research is ongoing

Key references (examples):

  • Abbass et al. (2009) — MUS emergency visits
  • Russell et al. (2016) — PNES/functional seizures healthcare costs
  • Malda-Castillo et al. (2023) — Functional seizures healthcare reductions

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