Learn More about Verbal Connections
The Psychology of Language
in ISTDP
Welcome to an 6-week online course designed for health care staff working with ISTDP.
As ISTDP therapists, we work with language to relate and create therapeutic momentum. This course will present the psychology of language that can explain, describe and inform how language can create emotional closeness.
This course will present more approaches to create closeness and distance in the therapeutic encounter. In this way, your repertoire of verbal interventions will develop and be more exact in order to create therapeutic momentum.
Organizer: Maria Sandgren, lic psychologist, PhD, cert ISTDP therapist in Stockholm, Sweden.
MIND AT EASE
Improve Your Verbal Expressions to Create Therapeutic Momentum
As therapists, we rely on our perception, assessment and wordings to support clients' path to change. We know less about the psychology of language to create constructive changes.
In this course, you will learn:
The basics of the psychology of language
How the psychology of language is already embedded in verbal interventions in ISTDP
How to create closeness and distance by wordings for your verbal interventions and assess the same for your clients
How to apply theory with practical reflection exercises for therapeutic momentum
An Online Course Including Webinars For ISTDP Practitionners
Requirements
All participants must be licensed or registered in a recognized degree program. All participants must have followed a mininum of 1 year of ISTDP core training.
You will be asked to show certifications to confirm this.
You need to have a good mastery of English. If you work as a therapist in another language, you can translate from your language to English for reflection exercises.
We will communicate in English, and all written material and live webinars will be in English.
Course content
During the 6-week course, we will meet online twice each week. I will present a theme each week linked to a reflection exercise for participants to work on. The theme and reflections will be related to ISTDP practice. Follow-up webinar is scheduled later in the same week.
Each participant will have a personal digital account to log into where videos, reflections exercises and recorded webinars will be available during the course.
The cost for participating is 195 USD. This price is reduced for this very first round of offering this course.
Course outline
The Psychology Underlying Verbal Interventions in ISTDP
In ISTDP we rely on our choice of wordings to create therapeutic momentum. However, we know less about the underlying psychology. In this course, you will learn about the theory of verbal interventions and how verbal formulations can enhance closeness and distance - both in line with and beyond the ISTDP literature. Maria Sandgren will show, for example, how concrete and abstract wordings are related to experiences of psychological distance and closeness. All material is based on psychological science.
An Introduction to The Psychology of Language
In this course, you will also get a introduction on the function of language is according to the scientific literature in psychology. Maria will also present the specifics of ISTDP language use (when, how and about what) and how it can be developed.
Language helps us to share information, collaborate, and create social bonds. In addition, what and how we express ourselves will shape how we think and create reality. Language is also a social force, as spoken and written, and can be used to influence others. After following this course, you will be more aware about language use theoretically and in your therapeutic conversations, and its role for creating social connections.
FAQ Section
Will the live webinars be recorded and accessible?
Yes, the webinars will be recorded and uploaded on the course platform so you can watch them shortly after they have been live.
Who is this course on verbal interactions for therapeutic momentum for?
This course is designed for ISTDP practitioners with a basic understanding of the metapsychology. You can be in your early stage of career or more seasoned. Yet, Maria welcomes particularly those who are not yet trainers in ISTDP. She plans for a course designed for trainers and hope they can be patient. Sign up for the newsletter to receive information about future webinars and courses for trainers.
How much work would need to do between the webinars?
The theme for the week is presented each Monday, just as the reflection tasks are. The pedagogical idea is that you will work with the reflection task during workdays. For example by observing how you work with specific wordings to create closeness and/or applying the examples. On Fridays we have a follow-up and discuss challenges and creative learning moments. To watch the material in the digital account will take around 45 minutes per week.
What time zones is the schedule adapted to?
The future online courses on The Psychology of Language in ISTDP will primarily be adapted to US EST and European time zones. Maria will send out details about the schedule and course start in August. The course will run October - November.
How come this online course design - including live webinars a personal digital account?
Maria welcomes those interested to learn about verbal interventions in a well-prepared and creative format.
Maria made a survey about workshops and trainings in ISTDP this Spring. Based on these responses this course is created. Maria has considerad that therapists have little time to study for themselves and would need a pedagogical format more clearly aligned with the course content.
Therefore, this course includes recorded webinars and short instructive videos to watch at any moment. She has also created smaller and distinct reflection exercises that can easily be integrated in the daily work as a therapist.
If you want to know more about the course, updates on registration etc, please fill in your name and mailaddress in the orange sign-up below.
Each participants will have their own digital account with the course content at hand. They will also recieve prompts about the week's theme per mail.
What is the price for the online course?
The price is 240 USD only in Fall 2025. As this is the first time this course is given, the price is reduced.
Welcome to Register for the Newsletter!
You will receive updates on for this particular online course, other workshops, early bird discounts, and other essential information, not more than 1-2 times per month.
Maria strive to accomodate schedules suitable both for US EST and European time zone.
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Course Organizer
Maria Sandgren
Reg psychologist, PhD psychology, cert ISTDP therapist
Website (online courses): Psychological Forum Education
Homepage (therapy): Psychological Forum
Blog (not active): Psychology & ISTDP
Google Scholar: Scientific articles
Art Work: Maria Sandgren Photographer
Maria Sandgren is reg psychologist and has a PhD in psychology. She has run a private practice since 1997 and has been working as assistent professor with teaching and research. She started the subject of psychology and a professional program (Bachelor level) from scratch at a Södertörn Unversity.
She participated in the first ISTDP core training (2012-2015) in Sweden with Professor Allan Abbas, Canada, and MSW Jon Frederickson, USA. Continued with ISTDP advanced training (2021-2022) with Professor Allan Abbas and Dr Joel Town, Clinical Psychologist, Canada.
Through the years, she has included psychological findings on learning, language, emotions, and social collaboration in her therapeutic work.
She has done research on music and political psychology exploring factors behind artistic performance and values, and values and motives for political orientation, also for equality.
She found that the extensive teaching experience in psychology and her scientific work has contributed to a wider perspective on the human being that clinical psychology only could not offer.
She is also a fine art photographer, and has created an online course platform on photography and aesthetic psychology for photographers interested in developing their artistic practice - together with Hanna Goldstein, a multidisciplinary artist working in photography, living in Berlin, Germany.
Maria masters Swedish and English fluently, and speaks French and German modestly, yet reads well. She lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Background to the Pedagogical Approach
Maria Sandgren has extensive teaching experience from creating courses and lecturing (Bachelor level) in higher education. She has also substantial experience being a student and learner in various fields (psychology, therapy, language, photography, music etc) both from university and private tuition.
Her experience is that the tradition of teaching is very similar across fields such as therapy and photography or music training. The elements of tuition or supervision, individually or in group, with short lectures and hands-on guidance are very alike. One major reason for this traditional pedagogical outline is the limited time format and lack of pedagogical education. Certainly, the pedagogy can be improved and adapted to the needs of the professionals.
With this first course, Maria wishes to introduce a new kind of pedagogical and creative format for professional health staff working with ISTDP.
Questions?
Welcome to contact me.
(C) Maria Sandgren Psychological Forum Sweden 2025
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