Working in the T and Reaching the Unconscious: A Video Based Workshop

Overview

A video-based ISTDP workshop on working in the T, front door defences, and the roadmap to the unconscious with Dr Javier Malda Castillo.

This online video-based workshop with Dr Javier Malda Castillo will focus on the clinical task of working in the T — the realistic relationship — within ISTDP.

Drawing on the work of Josette ten Have-de Labije, particularly her teaching on front door defences, the working alliance, and the roadmap to the unconscious, the workshop will use clinical video material to demonstrate how the therapist can work realistically and actively with patients at different points on the spectrum of psychoneurotic disorders.

Across the day, Dr Malda Castillo will show work with different patients presenting with varying levels of ego adaptive capacity, defences and access to unconscious . The focus will be on how to maintain contact with the patient’s ego, identify when the patient moves away from realistic relating, and address defences as they appear “at the front door” of the therapeutic relationship.

Participants will be invited to observe how the therapist works moment-to-moment in the T: clarifying the therapeutic task, monitoring the patient’s response, assessing anxiety and capacity, and helping the patient turn against defences that block emotional closeness and access to the unconscious.

The workshop will combine video demonstration, teaching, and clinical discussion. It is intended to help clinicians deepen their understanding of how to use the realistic relationship as a central therapeutic pathway in ISTDP, particularly when working with fragile, resistant, or highly defended patients.

What the workshop will cover

The workshop will explore:

• The meaning of working in the T in ISTDP.
• How to establish and maintain the realistic relationship.
• How front door defences appear in the therapeutic encounter.
• How defences interfere with contact, collaboration, and emotional closeness.
• How to work with patients across different parts of the psychoneurotic spectrum.
• How the roadmap to the unconscious can guide clinical decision-making.
• How video review can sharpen the therapist’s moment-to-moment technical focus.

Who can attend?

This workshop is open to qualified mental health professionals only.

It is suitable for clinicians with an interest in ISTDP, including psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, clinical social workers, and other registered or accredited mental health professionals. Participants should have clinical experience and be bound by a professional code of ethics and confidentiality.

In attending this event, participants agree to not reproduce, share or distribute any of the confidential material presented in this event.

This event isnot suitable for the general public, patients, or people attending for personal therapy purposes, as clinical video material and specialist psychotherapy concepts will be discussed.

Key literature

The workshop draws particularly on Josette ten Have-de Labije’s contributions to ISTDP, including her work with Robert J. Neborsky on the roadmap to the unconscious and the working alliance. Relevant texts include:

1. ten Have-de Labije, J., & Neborsky, R. J. (2012).Mastering Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy: A Roadmap to the Unconscious. Karnac/Routledge.
2. ten Have-de Labije, J. (2010).The Collected Writings of Josette ten Have-de Labije. Unlocking Press.
3. ten Have-de Labije, J. (2021).Stumble, Fall and Get Up Again on the Road to the Unconscious: Practical Exercises for the ISTDP Therapist.

Speaker

Dr Javier Malda Castillo is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, psychotherapist, and ISTDP teacher and supervisor certified by the IEDTA. He is the founder of ISTDP-North and has developed a strong reputation for teaching ISTDP in a clear, clinically grounded, and technically precise way. He is also an accredited supervisor in Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) as well as has completed group psychodynamic therapy training (IGA) and individual psychodynamic psychotherapy training (Tavistock D58-D59).

Dr Malda Castillo has been learning and supervised by Dr Josette ten have-De Labije since 2020 in an advanced ISTDP international group in Berlin. In his workshops, Dr Malda Castillo places strong emphasis on video-based learning, technical precision, and the realistic application of ISTDP principles with patients across different levels of ego adaptive capacity.