Traversing the Emotional Distance is a 6-week online course designed for health care staff working with ISTDP/EDT. 

Applying pressure effectively is one of the hardest skills to master in ISTDP. It asks the therapist to manage their own emotions, track the patient's moment-to-moment shifts, and stay fully present — all at the same time. Yet despite its clinical importance, we still lack a clear theoretical foundation to explain how and why it works.

This course offers two practical frameworks to fill that gap.

The first draws on the Psychology of Language. The words we choose create emotional closeness or distance. By understanding how language moves between the abstract and the concrete, therapists can learn to bring patients closer to their emotional experience — and recognize when a patient's words, defenses, or body language are signaling a retreat from it.

The second draws on Interoception in Neuroscience — our ability to sense, process, and respond to signals from within our own bodies. This inner attunement is foundational to emotional awareness, for both therapist and patient. Research shows that stronger interoceptive capacity is linked to lower anxiety and depression, and greater overall well-being.

Together, these two frameworks offer a unified picture: effective pressure is an invitation to move from abstract thinking toward direct, felt contact with one's inner life. This course will show you how both frameworks illuminate and widen the application of the verbal and bodily mechanisms behind successful therapeutic outcomes in ISTDP.

Pedagogical Outline

All learning activities are designed to fit real-life constraints—such as clinical workload, family responsibilities, geographic dispersion, and time zones—while supporting continuous learning beyond scheduled group contact.

All course materials will be accessible via your personal digital account until Dec 31st, 2026.

Course Start

Course start: Friday, August 21th (live incl. 1 hr check-in, presentation, 2 hr lecture)
Course end: September 25th 

Course Organizer

Maria Sandgren
Lic psychologist, PhD psychology
Cert ISTDP therapist, educator
Psychological Forum
Stockholm, Sweden