ISTDP over Coffee · free attendance

The Therapist as a Person

The most important therapeutic tool is you.

Marilyn Gulland
Guest · IEDTA
Marilyn Gulland
Chair of the IEDTA Ethics Committee, ISTDP psychotherapist based in London.
Deborah Pollack
Guest · IEDTA
Deborah Pollack
President-elect of the IEDTA, doctor of clinical psychology from New York State.

9 September 2026 18:00 CEST Online broadcast Free attendance

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What we will talk about

When technique stops being enough

This time we will be hosting Marilyn Gulland and Deborah Pollack. Over our conversation with a cup of coffee we will talk about what actually heals in psychotherapy, when theory starts to get in the way, and what the path to mastery looks like. The meeting will be led by the founders of the Polish Institute of ISTDP Sentio, Agnieszka Kamińska and Renata Gehrke.

Point 01

The healing factors in therapy

Point 02

When theory obscures the person - the danger of putting technique before the relationship

Point 03

The art of being responsive, flexible and creative

Point 04

Paths to mastery

Invited guests

Two psychotherapists from the IEDTA board

Marilyn Gulland
Guest

Marilyn Gulland

Chair of the IEDTA Ethics Committee · United Kingdom

A certified psychotherapist specialising in ISTDP, running a practice in central London. She trained with Robert Neborsky and Alexandra Knowles, then completed three years of Advanced Core Training with Allan Abbass and Joel Town. Before turning to psychotherapy she practised law in the City of London for over two decades; she has also published two novels.

Deborah Pollack
Guest

Deborah Pollack

President-elect of the IEDTA · United States

A doctor of clinical psychology (Duquesne University), in clinical practice since 2006 in New York State. She has practised Experiential Dynamic Therapy since 2009 and has completed Advanced Core Training and the Training of Trainers programme in ISTDP. She teaches at Utica University and provides individual and group supervision.

Both are co-organising the IEDTA conference in Dubrovnik, held on 7-9 October 2026. Its theme is “The Person of the Therapist” - exactly the subject we will focus on during the webinar.

Hosted by

Founders of the Polish Institute of ISTDP SENTIO

Agnieszka Kamińska
Host

Agnieszka Kamińska

Co-founder of the Polish Institute of ISTDP Sentio

A certified psychotherapist and psychologist. She completed one of the first Polish editions of Core Training - a comprehensive advanced training programme in ISTDP psychotherapy - earning the IEDTA certificate of completion, which qualifies her to practise psychotherapy independently in this modality.

She originated and co-founded the Polish Institute of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy SENTIO. She is an ambassador for ISTDP in Poland, an approach to personal development and psychotherapy still new to the country. Since 2001 she has been inspiring and helping people to grow personally and to keep their emotional balance in life.

Her motto: „Dare and act”.

Renata Gehrke
Host

Renata Gehrke

Co-founder of the Polish Institute of ISTDP Sentio

A certified psychotherapist and psychologist. She completed one of the first Polish editions of Core Training - a comprehensive advanced training programme in ISTDP psychotherapy - earning the IEDTA certificate of completion, which qualifies her to practise psychotherapy independently in this modality.

Founder of the DIALOG Centre for Therapy and Development in Wejherowo and of the Polish Institute of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy SENTIO. She created istdp-psychoterapia.pl, the platform bringing Polish ISTDP psychotherapists together, and edits its ISTDP blog. For well over a decade she has supported people in personal growth and in building good relationships.

Her professional motto: „Meet yourself and lead yourself to success”.

How our conversations run

A conversation, not a lecture

ISTDP over Coffee is a free webinar series run by the Polish Institute of ISTDP Sentio. The tone is relaxed, the substance is not - conversations about ISTDP psychotherapy, over a cup of coffee.

The meeting is live, and we email the joining details before the webinar.

A cup of coffee with latte art next to a notebook - the visual signature of the ISTDP over Coffee series

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Marilyn Gulland

Chair of the IEDTA Ethics Committee

Marilyn Gulland is a certified psychotherapist specialising in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). She completed her Core Training in the UK with Robert Neborsky and Alexandra Knowles, followed by three years of Advanced Core Training with Allan Abbass and Joel Town. She is currently training to teach and supervise ISTDP on Jon Frederickson's Trainer of Trainers programme. Marilyn wrote and developed a six-week workshop, „Emotional Health for Spiritual Growth”, based on ISTDP metapsychology, which she runs with small church groups. She sits on the board of the IEDTA and chairs its Ethics Committee. She maintains a private practice in central London.

Marilyn read law at Durham University and was a member of the English Law Society and the New York State Bar, practising law at various US and UK firms in the City of London for over two decades. She has also published two novels; her debut, Cloth Girl, appeared in hardback and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award in 2006.

Deborah Pollack

President-elect of the IEDTA

Deborah Pollack is an American clinical psychologist (PhD in Clinical Psychology, Duquesne University, 2006), in clinical practice since 2006. She completed Core Training in STDP, Advanced Core Training in ISTDP (2017-2019), and Training of Trainers in ISTDP (2017-2020), and became certified in AEDP in 2013. She has been practising Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT) since 2009. She is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Utica University and describes herself as a clinical psychologist with twenty years of supervisory experience.

Deborah provides individual and group supervision in ISTDP and psychodynamic psychotherapy, both in person and online, and offers workshops for psychotherapy practices to help therapists overcome resistance. She is President-elect of the IEDTA, having previously served as president of the Central New York Psychological Association. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association's Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration.