Clinical Concepts · Psychoanalysis Who Is Psychoanalysis For? There is a common assumption that psychoanalysis is for people who are, in some sense, deep in crisis, carrying a specific diagnosis, or dealing with something dramatic enough to justify years of work. It is an understandable assumption, but it is not quite accurate, and it could […]

Clinical Concepts · Psychoanalysis What Is Psychoanalysis? There is a particular kind of suffering that resists being fully explained. Pain that doesn’t map neatly onto a diagnosis. A pattern that keeps repeating despite every effort to reason it away. A symptom that persists long after the obvious causes have been addressed. Alongside the question of

Can Couples Therapy Save a Relationship? What the Research Shows If you and your partner keep ending up in the same painful argument, you may be wondering whether things can still change. Research on couples gives a more hopeful answer than most people expect, along with a clear picture of what makes the difference. By

Clinical Concepts · ISTDP & Psychoanalysis What Is the Patient Really Resisting? When Resistance Becomes Character In dynamic psychotherapy we talk about resistance often. The usual, simple reading: the patient is defending against feelings and impulses that were repressed because experiencing them once felt too dangerous. Mikkel Reher-Langberg, in the second volume of Fundamentals of

Book Review · ISTDP Fundamentals of ISTDP, Volume 2: A Return to the Roots That Looks Forward Some books you read. Others you work with. The second volume of Fundamentals of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy by Mikkel Reher-Langberg belongs to the second category — a thick, cloth-bound volume from the Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Library, published

New to Therapy or New to Online · A Practical Walkthrough Your First Online Therapy Session: What Actually Happens A lot of the hesitation around starting online therapy isn’t about whether it works — it’s not knowing what the first session actually looks like. Here’s a plain, practical walkthrough, from the days before to the

A Practical, Honest Comparison How to Choose Between Online Therapy Options as an Expat Search for “online therapy” and you’ll get large international platforms, university-affiliated clinics, and small independent practices — all mixed together, all claiming to help. Here’s what actually differs between them, so the choice is based on your situation rather than whichever

For Clients Already in Therapy · Relocation & Continuity Continuing Therapy When You Move Abroad (or Move Again) Most advice about online therapy is written for people looking for a therapist for the first time. This is written for the other situation: you already have one, and you’re about to move — or you’ve moved

ISTDP & Psychoanalysis Nancy McWilliams and Allan Abbass: What Psychoanalysis and ISTDP Have in Common A leading psychoanalyst reconsiders a decades-old stereotype about ISTDP after watching Allan Abbass work live — and arrives at a conclusion that matters for how we think about defenses in therapy. Nancy McWilliams is not a casual observer of psychotherapy.

Relationship Patterns Series · Glossary Borderline Isn’t Just a Diagnosis: Personality Organization Levels According to Nancy McWilliams The word “borderline” causes confusion in everyday conversation, because it means two different things. This distinction organises the rest of the series. This article is a glossary tying together the series on relationships with a partner who has

Relationship Patterns Series · Narcissism & Echoism A Relationship with a Narcissistic Partner and the Echoism Trap: Why It’s So Hard to Leave The answer isn’t “because I was weak”. This kind of relationship has a mechanism built into it that literally makes leaving harder. People who leave a relationship with a narcissistic partner often

Relationship Patterns Series · Bipolar Disorder When Your Partner Has Bipolar Disorder: What’s the Illness, and What’s Character This distinction relieves both people — and may be the single most useful skill a couple can build in this situation. This article is part of a series on relationships with a partner who has a demanding

Relationship Patterns Series · Borderline Living with a Partner Who Has a Borderline Personality: Between Idealisation and Devaluation The same person who was clinging to you with enormous intensity a moment ago can push you away with equally enormous anger — and then be terrified you’re leaving. This isn’t a whim; it’s how the psyche

Relationship Patterns Series Who Attracts Whom? Unconscious Partner Choice in Difficult Relationships Why we keep ending up with the same kind of difficult partner — and what that pattern can teach us. Many people who come to therapy after a stormy relationship ask some version of the same question: why did I end up with

Before You Start Is It the Right Time to Start Therapy? Most people wait longer than they need to, often for reasons that don’t hold up once you look at them directly. There’s rarely a clean, obvious signal that it’s “time.” Most people who end up in our office describe a long stretch of almost-deciding

Relationship Patterns Recognizing Narcissistic Patterns in a Relationship — and What Actually Helps You can’t diagnose a partner from the outside. But you can learn to recognize a pattern, and understand what keeps you in it. “Narcissist” has become one of the most searched, and most misused, words in relationship language. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is

Choosing How to Get Support Therapy Apps Like BetterHelp vs. a Local Therapist in Lisbon Apps lowered the barrier to entry for millions of people, and that’s a genuine good. Here’s what actually differs if you’re choosing between one and an independent local practice. Platforms like BetterHelp made starting therapy faster and less intimidating for

Working Across Cultures 5 Things Therapists Get Wrong With International & Expat Clients Most clinical training happens inside one cultural framework. Working well with clients who are living, loving, and grieving across two or three of them takes more than good intentions. Cross-cultural competence isn’t something a therapist either has or doesn’t — it’s closer

Local Resource Guide · Mental Health in Lisbon How to Find a Therapist in Lisbon: A Practical Guide Whether you’re an expat looking for English-speaking support or a resident of Lisbon trying to find the right fit, this guide brings together the practical resources — crisis lines, hospitals, support groups, cost information, and directories —

Therapy Explained · Mindfulness-Based Approaches Mindfulness-Based Therapy: What It Is, How It Works, and Who It Helps Most Mindfulness in a clinical setting is not the same as a wellness-app breathing exercise. Here is what mindfulness-based therapy actually trains, what it’s good evidence for, and where its limits are. What is mindfulness-based therapy? Mindfulness-based therapy

Therapy Explained · Internal Family Systems Internal Family Systems (IFS): What It Is, How It Works, and Who It Helps Most IFS starts from the idea that the mind is naturally made up of different “parts” — and that all of them, even the difficult ones, are trying to help. Here is what that looks

Therapy Explained · Somatic Experiencing Somatic Experiencing: What It Is, How It Works, and Who It Helps Most Somatic Experiencing works with the body first, not only the story. Here is what a session actually involves, what the research says, and who tends to benefit. What is Somatic Experiencing? Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based

Relationship Patterns Explained Gaslighting, Love Bombing & Other Modern Relationship Terms Six terms that spread quickly online for describing painful relationship patterns — what they actually mean, and where the line between “toxic behavior” and a genuine clinical picture actually sits. Over the last decade, a cluster of terms describing painful relationship dynamics has moved

History of ISTDP Habib Davanloo and the International Journal of ISTDP How one psychiatrist’s clinical research in Montreal became a distinct psychotherapy modality — and the journal that gave it a scholarly home. Who was Habib Davanloo? Habib Davanloo (1927–2023) was an Iranian-born, Canadian-trained psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who spent most of his career in Montreal.

Book Review “Hold Me Tight” by Sue Johnson — A Therapist’s Review What the book teaches, who it helps, and whether a book can replace couples therapy. Few relationship books get recommended by therapists as often as Hold Me Tight by the late Dr Sue Johnson. As practitioners who use the approach it’s based on,

Attachment Styles · Explained Avoidant Attachment: What It Is, Where It Comes From, and How Therapy Helps If closeness makes you want to pull away — if you value independence so highly that intimacy starts to feel like pressure — you may recognize yourself in what researchers call an avoidant attachment style. Here’s what the

Relationship Patterns Therapy for Trauma Bonding: Breaking the Cycle What a trauma bond is, why it’s so hard to leave, and how therapy helps you heal. If you are in immediate danger, your safety comes first. In Portugal you can call 112 (emergency) or contact APAV, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support: free, confidential Victim

Couples & Relationship Basics What Is Relationship Therapy? A Complete Guide What relationship therapy is, how it differs from couples counselling, what happens in sessions, and who it helps. “Relationship therapy” sounds self-explanatory until you try to define it. This guide explains what it actually involves, how it differs from couples counseling and marriage counseling,

Therapy Explained · EFT Emotionally Focused Therapy vs. Emotional Freedom Technique: Same Acronym, Different Things If you searched for “EFT therapy Lisbon,” you may be looking for one of two very different things. Both are called EFT — but beyond the initials, they have almost nothing in common. What is Emotionally Focused Therapy? What is

Therapy Explained · TFP Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP): What It Is and Who It Helps Most Transference-Focused Psychotherapy is a structured psychodynamic treatment built specifically for intense, unstable relationship patterns and identity difficulties — most rigorously tested for borderline personality organisation. Here is what it actually involves. What is TFP? Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is a manualised,