Dr. Deborah Pollack is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Utica University and a clinical psychologist in private practice in Syracuse, New York, USA. She also has faculty appointments at SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University. Dr. Pollack has leadership roles on the board of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association (IEDTA), is the President-elect of the Central New York Psychological Association, and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Contemporary ISTDP.
Dr. Pollack received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duquesne University in 2006, which is where she learned existential-phenomenological approaches to psychology and research. She has published several peer-reviewed articles on the topics of feminist-psychodynamic research and psychotherapy, maternal ambivalence, and EDT-informed group therapy. She has been studying the EDTs since 2009 and is certified as a Teacher and Supervisor through the IEDTA. She is currently running a core training in ISTDP. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, sewing, and hiking.
Presentation
Presentation Part 1: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of Patients’ Experiences of Unlocking the Unconscious in Intensive-Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
In this presentation I will present the results of my qualitative study on patients’ experiences of “unlocking the unconscious.” Quantitative research has demonstrated unlockings in ISTDP to be a crucial change process that improves symptoms and overall functioning, however there has been a lack of empirical investigation into patients’ experiences of these significant events. This study therefore aims to begin developing a phenomenology of what it is like to have one’s unconscious “unlocked” in ISTDP. After recruiting several patients who had a successful course of ISTDP with one or more unlockings, I reviewed videos of those sessions where an unlocking occurred, and then interviewed each patient about their memory of that unlocking and their subsequent experiences. I used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to develop themes within and across these cases. Participants assisted in providing feedback about the themes. Final results of this study will be presented and discussed with the audience.
Presentation Part 2: Bringing the existential into focus with time-limited ISTDP
In this presentation I will be sharing some of my work in a time-limited model of ISTDP. I will review some of the ways that the short-term psychodynamic movement has taken up the problem of “analysis interminable,” and I will integrate existential-phenomenological theory to further explore some reasons why endings can be so challenging in psychotherapy. I will describe how unconscious existential anxiety can foster omnipotent transferences that often perpetuate lengthening of treatment past its usefulness. I will explain how I have used a time-limit as a form of pressure in ISTDP in order to bring these issues into conscious awareness, and to deconstruct fantasies of timelessness. I will present several clinical videos that demonstrate working with existential issues to help patients face and accept their rage and grief about “unfinished business” in their therapy, and with life itself.