Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT)
So what is DIT and how is it different?
DIT stands for Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT). Briefly, it is a simple short term (16 sessions) individual therapy for mood disorder. This model was designed by experienced psychotherapists for use with clients seeking short term psychotherapy in NHS settings.
The model was developed by identifying key components drawn from psychoanalytic/dynamic therapies, and then trialling the practice. As a result of the research this model of brief dynamic work is the one authorised to be rolled out nationally within the IAPT programme for work with depressed patients, alongside Counselling for Depression (humanistic model) and CBT (behavioural model).
This model is a good place to start if you have not had counselling or psychotherapy before as it is a time limited piece of work and it can help you explore relationship issues in a goal focused way.
Please contact me if you are interested, and we can see if this is a suitable model for you.
Initial consultation £55.00
Subsequent sessions £55.00- £90.00 depending on income for 16 sessions.
To give you some idea of how the authors of the model and training explain this work please see the extract below:
What is Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy?
Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is a psychodynamic psychotherapy that can help people with depression.
One of the main ideas in psychodynamic therapy is that when something is very painful we can find ourselves trying to ignore it (it’s a bit like the saying “out of sight, out of mind”). Most of the time we know when we’re doing this, but sometimes we can bury something so successfully that we lose sight of it completely. This is why difficult experiences in the past can continue to affect the way we feel and behave in the present.
DIT provides people with a safe place to talk openly about how they feel and to understand what might be causing their difficulties An example shows how this might work. Someone who was repeatedly rejected by their parents may stop themselves thinking about how painful this is. As an adult they might withdraw from relationships, feeling that it is safer to be alone and not having to depend on anyone. Although not getting close to anyone helps them to feel safer, they might also feel lonely and get depressed as a result.
How would a DIT therapist help such a person? By helping them to talk freely about themselves it might become clear that whenever someone tries to get to know them, they fear the worst and push them away, just to make sure that no one ever gets close enough to hurt or disappoint them again. In the course of day-to-day life people don’t necessarily notice how they are behaving or responding to others because this becomes second nature - ‘the way things are’. By drawing their attention to this pattern in their relationships, therapy would help them to understand themselves better and change the way they respond".
(Description taken from introductory leaflet "choosing a psychological therapy - information for service users" prepared by the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust and used in the DIT training UK)
