Interpersonal psychotherapy

Muhammad Musawar Ali
MPHIL, ICAP
Psychmmusawarali@gmail.com

Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interpersonal psychotherapy was developed by
Gerald Klerman (1929–1992).
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a brief
psychotherapy
Klerman approach identifies important
interpersonal situations and suggests
individualistic solutions for clients.
That addresses interpersonal issues in
depression, to the exclusion of all other foci of
clinical attention

Continued
Focus on the importance of interpersonal relationships in
determining behavior and psychopathology
IPT does not necessarily assert that psychopathology arises
from impaired relationships. But, problems are manifested in
these relationships
Research has supported this idea
Individuals with depression have less supportive
relationships
Individuals with other problems (e.g., alcohol abuse) more
frequently have marital difficulties
Risk of relapse in depression increases when patients live
with critical, negative family members

Background
In developing interpersonal psychotherapy,
Klerman was influenced by both early
theorists and research on depression.
Adolf Meyer (1957) emphasized the
importance of both psychological and
biological forces.
According to Meyer, psychiatric disorders
developed as individuals tried to adapt to
their environment. Early experiences with
both the family and various social groups
influenced individuals’ adaptation to their
environment

Continued…….
Interpersonal Theory: proposed by Harry Stack
Sullivan (1953) showed the importance of peer
relationships in childhood and adolescence as they
had an impact on later interpersonal relationships.
Attachment theory: proposed by J. Bowlby, suggests
that humans have an innate tendency to seek
attachments, that these attachments contribute to the
survival of the species, and to individual satisfaction.
Attachments lead to reciprocal, personal, social bonds
with significant others, and to experiences of warmth,
nurturance and protection.

View of Human Nature
Although childhood experiences are
important, IPT regards current relationships
as more important
They focus on “ here and now” framework

Factors cause depression
Klerman studied psychological research on
depression to determine which factors played
a role in the onset of depression.
Humans are vulnerable to depression if
attachments do not develop early and
attachment bonds are disrupted
Certain life events created stress that led to
depression.

Different factors
loss of social relationships
women became depressed, they interacted
more poorly socially (for example, were
nonassertive).
Also, social and interpersonal stress,
especially stress in marriage, affected the
development of depression.
Arguments between spouses were related
to the onset of depression.

Personality Theory
Klerman (Klerman et al., 1984) was less
concerned with the cause of depression than with
helping individuals deal with the kinds of issues
that affect their lives.
Klerman believed that depression was the result of
a variety of interpersonal issues.
Many of these may have been caused
by difficulties in early relationships
or problems of attachment within
the family.

Continue……..
To deal with these in a brief treatment
approach did not seem to be the most
effective way to help individuals deal with
their current symptoms of depression.
Rather, he believed that there were four
interpersonal problem areas that, if they
could be alleviated, would help an
individual deal with depression.

Four areas of social dysfunction
Interpersonal Disputes
Role Transitions
Interpersonal Deficits
social functioning
problems
Grief

Grief
Grief is simply defined in IPT as "loss through death". In
IPT the term is reserved specifically for bereavement.
It can provide difficulties for people in mourning,
particularly when the reaction is severe and continues over
a long period of time.
Grief may present a particularly difficult problem when
individuals experience the loss of more than one person
who is close to them. Furthermore, some individuals are
more prone to becoming depressed after losing a close
friend or family member than are others.
This reaction is often referred to as complicated
bereavement.

Interpersonal Disputes
Often arguments, or disagreements with others, particularly on a
continuing basis, can lead to depression.
The dispute is with :
Family member, spouse, child, parent, or other relative.
At work—a boss, a subordinate, or a coworker.
Friends or associates, or people in community organizations.
The disagreement usually has to do with different expectations
and communication problems between the person and the other
party.

For example
A neighbor is stealing but the
victim cannot prove it.
A person’s boss gives a better
job to someone else who has
only recently been hired and
the person believes that this is
unfair

Role Transitions
Role transitions are situations in which
the patient has to adapt to a change in life
circumstances. Some are planned for and
some are not.
Examples of developmental changes are
going to college, getting engaged or
married, separating or divorcing, dealing
with difficult children, or having a child
leave the home.
Sometimes role transitions have to do
with work, such as trying to find a job,
dealing with promotion or demotion, or
being fired or laid off.

Continue……
Other role transitions may be accidental or
not predictable. An individual may develop a
serious illness or disease, may be injured in
an accident while at work or somewhere else,
or have to deal with losing a house to fire or
flood.
In those who develop depression, these
transitions are experienced as losses and
hence contribute to the development of
psychopathology.
Individuals who are prone to depression may,
when faced with one of these situations, see
their situation as hopeless or out of control.

Interpersonal Deficits
The person has a history of
problems in beginning or
maintaining relationships with
friends, relatives or others.

The person talks about feeling lonely and separate
from others. Although these feelings are
longstanding, they may become worse after one of
the other problems surfaces (such as a move to a
different town for a new job, or the death of a
friend or relative who used to be central in
bringing people together socially).
When individuals do not report recent events that
may have caused depression, this category is often
used.

Goals of IPT
Reduce symptoms of depression
Major goal of IPT is to change interpersonal
functioning by encouraging:
More effective communication
Emotional expression
Increased understanding of behavior in
interpersonal settings
Individuals are helped with the
mourning process and to deal
with their sadness.

Continued ……
 Helped to reestablish interest in relationships and to become
involved in both relationships and activities.
 They are helped to develop strategies to resolve the dispute or
to bring about a change in an impasse. Sometimes they may
change their expectations of their problems and relationships
with others.
 Seeing the new role as more positive is one goal.
 Develop a sense of mastery of the new role or roles and thus
increase self-esteem.
 Goals are to develop new relationships or improve ones that
may be superficial.

Interpersonal Therapy
Sana Zia (16)

Interpersonal Theory
Focus on the importance of interpersonal
relationships in determining behavior and
psychopathology

Interpersonal Therapy
Major goal of treatment= change interpersonal
functioning by encouraging:
More effective communication
Emotional expression
Increased understanding of behavior in interpersonal
settings
IPT assumes that by improving relationships,
symptoms and the patient’s life in general will
improve

Role of therapist
Patient advocate, not neutral
Active, not passive
Therapeutic relationship is not interpreted
as transference
Therapeutic relationship is not a friendship

Techniques of interpersonal
therapy
Clear approach that’s why it can appear to
be mechanical
In conducting interpersonal therapy,
therapists do this in three phases:
Initial session
Intermediate session
Termination

Initial session
A. Dealing with depression
1. use assessment inventories
2. Explain depression as a medical illness not
personal weakness and explain the treatment.
(medication / treatment / both)
3. Give the patient the “sick role.”
4. Supportive of the patient and show him that
there is hope

B. Relation of depression to interpersonal context
1. Review current and past interpersonal relationships as
they relate to current depressive symptoms. Determine
with the patient the following:
• a. Nature of interaction with significant persons
• b. Expectations of patient and significant persons
from one another and whether these were fulfilled
• c. Satisfying and unsatisfying aspects of the
relationships
• d. Changes the patient wants in the relationships

C. Identification of major problem areas
1. Determine the problem area related to current
depression and set the treatment goals.
2. Determine which relationship or aspect of a
relationship is related to the depression and
what might change in it..

D. Explain the IPT concepts and contract
1. Outline your understanding of the problem.
2. Agree on treatment goals, determining which
problem area will be the focus.
3. Describe procedures of IPT: “here and now”
focus, need for patient to discuss important
concerns; review of current interpersonal
relations; discussion of practical aspects of
treatment—length, frequency, times, fees,
policy for missed appointments

In the initial stage the therapist’s
encouragement and reassurance help build a
therapeutic alliance with the patient.
By coming up with a specific formulation
of how the treatment is to proceed, the stage
is set for the middle phase of therapy.

Intermediate Sessions
the interpersonal therapist uses different
strategies for each of the four areas
• Grief
• Interpersonal dispute
• Role transition
• Interpersonal deficit

Intermediate Sessions: The
Problem Areas
A. Grief
1. Goals
• a. Facilitate the mourning process.
• b. Help the patient reestablish interest and
relationships to substitute for what has been lost.
2. Strategies
• a. Review depressive symptoms.
• b. Relate symptom onset to death of significant
other.

• c. Reconstruct the patient’s relationship with
the deceased.
• D. Describe the sequence and consequences
of events just prior to, during, and after the
death.
• e. Explore associated feelings (negative as
well as positive).
• f. Consider possible ways of becoming
involved with others.

B. Interpersonal disputes
1. Goals
• a. Identify dispute.
• b. Choose plan of action.
• c. Modify expectations or faulty communication to
bring about a satisfactory resolution.

2. Strategies
a. Review depressive symptoms.
b. Relate symptom onset to overt or covert
dispute with significant other with whom
patient is currently involved.
c. Determine stage of dispute:
• i. Renegotiation (calm down participants to
facilitate resolution)
• ii. Impasse (increase disharmony in order to
reopen negotiation)
• iii. Dissolution (assist mourning)

d. Understand how nonreciprocal role
expectations relate to dispute:
• i. What are the issues in the dispute?
• ii. What are differences in expectations and
values?
• iii. What is the likelihood of finding
alternatives?
• iv. What resources are available to bring about
change in the relationship?

e. Are there parallels in other
relationships?
• i. What
• is the patient gaining?
• ii. What unspoken assumptions lie behind
the patient’s behavior?
f. How is the dispute perpetuated?

C. Role transitions
1. Goals
• a. Mourning and acceptance of the loss of the old
role.
• b. Help the patient to regard the new role as more
positive.
• c. Restore self-esteem by developing a sense of
mastery regarding demands of new roles.

2. Strategies
a. Review depressive symptoms.
b. Relate depressive symptoms to difficulty in
coping with some recent life change.
c. Review positive and negative aspects of old
and new roles.
d. Explore feelings about what is lost.

e. Explore feelings about the change itself.
f. Explore opportunities in new role.
g. Realistically evaluate what is lost.
h. Encourage development of social support
system and of new skills called for in new role.

D. Interpersonal deficits
1. Goals
• a. Reduce the patient’s social isolation.
• b. Encourage formation of new relationships.
2. Strategies
• a. Review depressive symptoms.
• b. Relate depressive symptoms to problems of social
isolation

• c. Review past significant relationships
including their negative and positive aspects.
• d. Explore repetitive patterns in relationships.
• e. Discuss patient’s positive and negative
feelings about therapist and seek parallels in
other relationships

Termination
A. Explicit discussion of termination.
B. Acknowledgment that termination is a time
of grieving.
C. Move toward recognition of independent
competence.

Specific Techniques
Exploratory techniques
An ability to use nondirective techniques, to
foster the client’s own sense of competence
and autonomy
• open-ended questions
• allow the client to elaborate what they are feeling
• extension of productive topics

Clarification
An ability to use clarificatory techniques,
asking the client to rephrase what they have
said.

Communication analysis
An ability to engage the client in reporting and
reflecting on a recent, difficult
exchange/conflict with another person.
an ability to help the client to focus on the
verbal and non-verbal level of the exchange
(e.g. posture, tone of voice)

Use of therapeutic relationship
An ability to help the client explore and try out,
within the therapeutic relationship, alternative
ways of communicating
An ability to provide feedback to the client
about how they may be coming across to
others

Strengths of IPT
Short term in nature
Encourage the patient to regain his/her
ability to function well
Lasts from 12-16 weeks
Lasting effects upto 16 weeks

limitations
Deals with depresive symtoms and family
problems
Not deal with psychotic disorders
Dependent on completing 12-16 weeks

Interpersonal psychotherapy

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