In plain words
Interpersonal therapy is the same treatment as , a short, structured for depression. It usually runs for 12 to 16 weekly sessions. It focuses on grief, conflict in close relationships, changes in life roles, and social isolation. It looks at present relationships rather than the distant past, and at how those relationships affect mood. It has been studied in , and several trials found it helpful, though many were small. Some therapists offer it in person and some by video. Mothers are often offered it alongside other treatments, such as medication. The name is used in some clinics and in some search results, so a mother may see either term.
The deeper version
Interpersonal therapy is the common name for interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), a manualized, time-limited treatment developed by Klerman, Weissman, and colleagues (1984) that targets grief, interpersonal disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits. Its theory links depressive symptoms to disruption in close relationships. Sockol and colleagues (Clinical Psychology Review, 2011) reported moderate to large effects for IPT and cognitive behavioral therapy in perinatal depression. Studies in pregnancy and postpartum samples are fewer and smaller, and the certainty of evidence is often rated low. The debate over whether IPT is superior to other psychotherapies, and in which format, is unresolved.
Where it comes up
- Postpartum depressionPostpartum: Mind
- Partners get it too: paternal and partner postpartum depressionPostpartum: Mind
- Postpartum ragePostpartum: Mind
- Therapy and medication after birth: what the options arePostpartum: Mind
- Finding a perinatal therapistPregnancy: Mind and Life
What mothers here say about interpersonal therapy
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Klerman GL, Weissman MM et al. — Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression. Basic Books, 1984
- Sockol LE, Epperson CN, Barber JP — A meta-analysis of treatments for perinatal depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 2011