Therapy with a focus on emotions and change
In my work as a psychologist, I take an affect-focused approach, with specialised training and experience in ISTDP. Therapy can help you understand how feelings, relationships, and earlier experiences affect how you feel and function in your life – and to work with what stands in the way of change.
I offer therapy at my practice in Östermalm, Stockholm, and online.
Therapy in Stockholm and online
Sometimes situations arise in life that are difficult to understand or move forward from on our own. This may involve anxiety, low mood, relationship difficulties, stress, loss, or a sense of having lost direction in life.
Therapy offers a space to take time to explore what is happening. Together, we look at emotions, experiences, relationships, and life circumstances that may have contributed to making it difficult to live your life in the way you would like.
I work with an affect-focused approach (ISTDP therapy), which means that feelings have an important place in therapy. Thoughts, feelings, and actions influence one another, but sometimes there are emotional reactions and experiences that are difficult to understand or connect with. In therapy, we have the opportunity to approach what is happening together and explore what it means for you.
The aim is not only to reduce what is difficult. Therapy can also be about developing a deeper connection with yourself, becoming able to make different choices, and creating more space to live the life you want to live.
I offer therapy at my practice in Östermalm, Stockholm, and online.
You are welcome to contact me if you would like to know more or book an initial session.
Affect-focused therapy & ISTDP
I work with an affect-focused approach based on ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy). For me, therapy is a close collaboration in which we explore together the feelings, reactions, and patterns that affect your life today.
Feelings are a fundamental part of how we orient ourselves in the world. They can help us understand what matters to us, how we are affected by other people, and what we need in different situations. At the same time, for various reasons, some feelings may have become difficult to recognise, express, or understand.
In therapy, we therefore pay attention not only to what you think and do, but also to what you feel and what is happening in the moment. By exploring together what may previously have been difficult to approach, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself, your relationships, and the patterns that recur in your life.
ISTDP is an active form of therapy. This means that, as a therapist, I do not simply listen but take an active part in our work together, helping you notice and explore what is happening during the session.
ISTDP and psychodynamic therapy
ISTDP has its roots in psychodynamic therapy, where earlier experiences and relationships are seen as important in shaping how we understand ourselves and our difficulties today. In therapy, we therefore explore both what is happening in your life now and earlier experiences that continue to affect you.
An important part of the work is understanding the patterns that have developed over the course of your life. Ways of managing feelings and relationships that may once have been necessary can later limit the possibility of closeness, change, or doing what you truly want to do.
By noticing these patterns as they emerge, it can become possible to understand them in a new way. This can create greater freedom to relate differently to yourself, to other people, and to the situations you encounter.
My approach to working with ISTDP
In therapy, I am interested not only in what is painful or has become difficult. It is equally important to pay attention to what sustains us, gives life meaning, and contributes to vitality.
We are not defined solely by our problems. Alongside our vulnerabilities, there are also relationships, experiences, values, interests, creativity, care, and hope. These are important parts of understanding who we are and how we find direction in life.
Feelings are rarely simple. They can be painful, contradictory, and sometimes difficult to approach. At the same time, they can be a source of closeness, vitality, creativity, and self-understanding.
In therapy, we explore what limits your life, while also paying attention to what matters to you and what you would like to give more space to.
A holistic perspective on affect-focused therapy
We understand ourselves and the world through an interplay of feelings, thoughts, and actions. These aspects influence one another, while also serving different functions in our lives.
Feelings help us orient ourselves in life. They can tell us something about what matters to us, how we are affected by others, and what we long for, need, or want to protect. When our connection with our feelings is limited, it can become more difficult to understand our own reactions. Our thoughts may then become filled with worry, self-criticism, or rumination without really helping us move forward.
At the same time, we are not shaped solely by our inner lives. Our relationships, experiences, and the contexts in which we live influence who we are and what becomes meaningful to us.
Our experiences shape us, but we also continue to develop throughout life. When something becomes clearer or takes on new meaning, new ways of relating to ourselves, other people, and life can become possible.
Therapy based on your needs
The content, focus, and length of therapy are shaped by what you are seeking help with and your life circumstances.
We begin with an initial session in which we explore together what you would like help with and what direction our work might take.
Some people seek help for a shorter period, while others want to work with their difficulties over a longer period of time. Together, we discuss what kind of approach may be helpful for you.
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Research on ISTDP and psychodynamic therapy
ISTDP is an affect-focused form of psychodynamic therapy that has been studied in relation to a range of psychological and physical health difficulties. Research has examined its use in the treatment of depression, anxiety, personality-related difficulties, and functional somatic symptoms, with findings indicating that this form of therapy may be helpful for different groups of patients.
Research on ISTDP and other affect-focused forms of therapy has also examined what happens within the therapeutic process itself – including the role that experiencing and processing feelings may play in therapeutic change.
Psychodynamic therapy is a broader field of research, where studies and research reviews provide support for its use in treating several forms of psychological distress. Research has also explored how change may continue after therapy has ended.
In Fall I will write on my blog on the research and readings on ISTDP and psychodynamic therapy and you are welcome to read there.
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Research on the importance on emotions
I use the words affects, emotions, and feelings in these texts. Here, I would like to explain why.
In research, the word emotion is often used as a general scientific term for emotional processes and experiences. In ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy), the term affect is also commonly used, with an emphasis on the bodily experience of emotion and its associated impulses – such as the surge of anger, the ache of grief, or the warmth of tenderness.
In everyday language, however, most people simply use the word feelings to describe what they experience emotionally.
Emotions influence how we experience ourselves, other people, and the world around us. They are part of how we orient ourselves in life and can provide information about what matters to us, what affects us, and how we respond to different situations and relationships.
Research across several areas of psychology is exploring the role of emotions in decision-making, relationships, memory, self-understanding, and psychological well-being, among other areas. Other fields of research examine how we attend to, experience, process, and regulate emotions.
In emotion-focused therapy, emotional life therefore has a central place. By paying attention to what is happening within us, we can gain a deeper understanding of our reactions, needs, and relational patterns.
Research on interoception – our ability to perceive and interpret signals from within the body – also contributes to our understanding of how bodily experiences, emotions, and psychological well-being are interconnected.
Book an initial session
I offer therapy sessions with a psychologist at my practice in Östermalm, Stockholm, and online.
You are welcome to contact me if you would like to book an initial session or have questions about starting therapy.
Maria Sandgren · Licensed Psychologist · PhD in Psychology
Certified ISTDP Therapist