19/01/2026
We had a chance to pick Jonathan Entis' mind ahead of the Stockholm ISTDP and Trauma conference this coming June. Jonathan Entis, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Rome, Italy, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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Thomas: What in ISTDP is currently on your mind and why?
Jonathan: I’m most excited about the supervision and training groups I’m leading these days. Together with my colleague Mikkel Reher-Langberg, we developed a style of training we call the Rome Mobilization Model, which applies the entire Central Dynamic Sequence to the supervisory interaction. When I first started doing supervision, I viewed it as more of an intellectual process. The trainee and I would get together to watch tape and together we would try to understand what the patient was doing, where the process was getting stuck or slowed down, and how the trainee could help the process improve. The majority of the time we focused on technical and theoretical considerations. A very small amount of what we talked about involved the trainee’s own emotional world, or what was getting activated not only between the trainee and the patient, but also between the trainee and myself as we collaborated. Now, that ratio has flipped, so the majority of what we focus on together concerns the trainee’s emotional world, what is getting activated in the tape as well as in the here and now of the supervision. In other words, the transference-countertransference component of the supervisory relationship has become the central focus for many, but not all, supervision hours within these groups. How deep that process goes is completely up to the trainee, but it often involves a full mobilization of the unconscious, allowing the trainee to get a deeper look at some of the internal factors affecting their work. In many ways this style of group is similar to Davanloo’s mobilization groups, but there are some key differences, as well. We’ve run about 5 groups of 10 participants each over the past two years, and we’ve been thrilled with the results. Of course, research will need to be done on this way of training to attest to its efficacy and safety, but we’re very excited.
Thomas: What are you planning to present in Stockholm and why?
Jonathan: The theme of this conference is Trauma and ISTDP. In many ways, this has been a major discussion point within the community for the last couple of years. What are the limitations of ISTDP to treat certain kinds of trauma, or even conceptualize them? I think it’s great that these ideas are being debated and questioned, and I’m hoping that more research will be done to shed further light on these important issues. I don’t claim to have answers to all these questions, but what I’d like to do is present some clinical vignettes with patients who have struggled with the lasting effects of different types of trauma, and share what I’ve learned from working with them. I’m hoping we can also have lively discussions with the audience about their understanding and their experiences treating patients with trauma.
Thomas: The last time I interviewed you, you were very interested in defiance and how to work with it. In the intervening years, have there been other other aspects of the unconscious and its resistance that have captured your attention?
Jonathan: Since that interview, I’ve been on a multi-year quest to better conceptualize fragility and how to work with it. I’m grateful to Allan Abbass for the wisdom he shares in his Fragile Rounds, and also to my patients and trainees who have taught me so much. Much of what I’ve learned from them, coupled with my own innovations, will be featured in the Stockholm presentation, which I’m very excited about.
I think the other thing that has really been a major focus for me goes back to my first response about training groups. Applying as much attention to what is happening inside the therapist as what is happening inside the patient–it just makes training and teaching so much richer and satisfying. So, perhaps the shifts in my attention have been less about which type of resistance, and more about whose resistance we’re looking at! We’re offering some live supervision slots in the afternoon of day 2, so we’ll see if anyone wants to get a taste of that experience.
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Join us on June 5-6, 2026, for a deep dive into ISTDP and Trauma with Jonathan Entis and Peter Lilliengren. Link to the event in comments.
