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Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in major depressive disorder - European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

  • ️Frase, Lukas
  • ️Fri Sep 07 2012

Abstract

In this article, we will introduce interpersonal psychotherapy as an effective short-term treatment strategy in major depression. In IPT, a reciprocal relationship between interpersonal problems and depressive symptoms is regarded as important in the onset and as a maintaining factor of depressive disorders. Therefore, interpersonal problems are the main therapeutic targets of this approach. Four interpersonal problem areas are defined, which include interpersonal role disputes, role transitions, complicated bereavement, and interpersonal deficits. Patients are helped to break the interactions between depressive symptoms and their individual interpersonal difficulties. The goals are to achieve a reduction in depressive symptoms and an improvement in interpersonal functioning through improved communication, expression of affect, and proactive engagement with the current interpersonal network. The efficacy of this focused and structured psychotherapy in the treatment of acute unipolar major depressive disorder is summarized. This article outlines the background of interpersonal psychotherapy, the process of therapy, efficacy, and the expansion of the evidence base to different subgroups of depressed patients.

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Acknowledgments

This article is part of the supplement “Personalized Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.” This supplement was not sponsored by outside commercial interests. It was funded by the German Association for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (DGPPN).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Hauptstr. 5, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Eva-Lotta Brakemeier & Lukas Frase

Authors

  1. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier

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  2. Lukas Frase

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Correspondence to Eva-Lotta Brakemeier.

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Brakemeier, EL., Frase, L. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in major depressive disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 262 (Suppl 2), 117–121 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-012-0357-0

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  • Received: 01 July 2012

  • Accepted: 13 August 2012

  • Published: 07 September 2012

  • Issue Date: November 2012

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-012-0357-0

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