An exciting programme for the ISTDP Health learning community next year, including online seminars and in person meet-ups with inspiring leaders of the field. See www.istdphealth.com for more information.

📢 Announcing Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy training in Exeter - UK 📢

An IEDTA accredited three year core training beginning in September 2025.

www.istdphealth.com/istdp-core-t...

Currently open for applications:

forms.gle/6hsGEjCLqB5R...

For clinicians interested in learning more about ISTDP for functional symptoms check these out from Dr Allan Abbass:

🎧 Podcast
tinyurl.com/2bc7pu7b

📰 CBC News
tinyurl.com/2p82kcwf

💻 Presentation
tinyurl.com/4tjcx3dd

🗃 ISTDP & FND Review Paper
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

All these findings and more are described in our review of ISTDP for FND. This outlines the rationale for ISTDP and includes real therapy vignettes to illustrate how it works. /7

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35390566/

This was in line with the great outcomes of ISTDP for dissociative seizures from Abbass' team in Canada who found:

📈 Significant improvement in symptoms & wellbeing

📉 Massive healthcare cost reductions.
/5

We piloted ISTDP for some patients with FND in our NHS service. We were delighted that this achieved very good results including physical symptom improvement, enhanced quality of life, and better wellbeing. /4

There is a specific method for identifying which people with FND might benefit from ISTDP and those for whom it is not relevant thanks to the excellent work of Dr Allan Abbass on this approach for functional symptoms in healthcare settings. /3

Then in 2022 we also joined forces with Dr Mallam and colleagues @ North Bristol NHS Trust to deliver a South West Conference on FND with over 160 NHS staff from across the whole region. It was great fun and we learnt so much!

Take the opportunity to work jointly with MDT colleagues.

For example, we were lucky to work with Lisa Butler undertaking pilots demonstrating the important benefits of Physiotherapy for FND including the huge health economics case!

Other colleagues in the acute trust were also upskilling themselves and delivering FND provision as part of core services at the same time!

Here's our RoyalDevonNHS own excellent Lisa Roberts on upskillling in FND for speech and language therapy:

Next up, make the case for FND provision as part of your core service.

Why exclude FND from core services when its one of the most common neurological presentations? It's nuts! 🥜

🏨 We set-up FND provision from within our existing Community Neuropsychology Team.