Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy and the Cherry Blossoms of Yoshino

Fundamentally, this viewpoint article is about the mystery and wonder that lie within the hearts of clients, therapists, as well as at the heart of this transformative work. The article speaks of the ways that ISTDP’s insistence on direct experience helps to convert the forces of resistance into those of the therapeutic alliance. Further, the article touches on the ways intensive, non-dual forms of meditation help mobilize the depths of the unconscious, and awaken the profound healing and compassionate forces of the human psyche. This writing also speaks about Windhorse’s Zentensive Workshop and Retreats, APA accredited trainings which blend the technical with the spiritual, the psychodynamic with the transcendent. Personal experiences of the author, and others, are shared to give voice to the transformative nature of this approach to training. These narratives also help shift the nature of this work from the theoretical to the practical, and help dissolve the sometimes vague and arbitrary distinctions made between our personal and professional lives. Finally, this article warns of the potential dangers of assuming an overly-technical approach to our clinical work and training. It looks ahead to how a spiritual therapist might practice, and to the exploration of potentially new paradigms of psychotherapy arising out of a place of Wonder.