Interpersonal Psychotherapy For Depression Research Articles

Patient Interpersonal and Cognitive Changes and Their Relation to Outcome in Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression

Despite interpersonal psychotherapy's (IPT) efficacy for depression, little is known about its change-promoting ingredients. This exploratory study examined candidate change mechanisms by identifying whether patients' interpersonal and cognitive characteristics change during IPT and whether such changes relate to outcomes. Patients were 95 depressed adults receiving manualized IPT. We used multilevel modeling to assess the relation between change in each interpersonal and cognitive domain and outcome. Across all interpersonal and cognitive variables measured, patients showed significant improvement. Unexpectedly, reduced romantic relationship adjustment was related to posttreatment depression reduction (β = 2.028, p = .008, self-rated; β = 1.474, p = .022, clinician-rated). For the other measured domains, change was not significantly associated with outcome (though changes in some interpersonal variables evidenced a trend-level relation to outcome). Possible reciprocal influences among IPT, depression, and romantic relationship functioning are discussed, as are implications for future research.

Baseline patient characteristics as predictors of remission in interpersonal psychotherapy for depression

We examined patient characteristics as remission predictors in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for depression (n=95). Four characteristic domains (sociodemographic, clinical/diagnostic, interpersonal, cognitive) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Remission was defined two ways: (a) posttreatment BDI-II beyond population-based cut-scores for reliable and clinically significant change, and (b) posttreatment BDI-II≤10. Across both definitions, patients most likely to remit had lower mean item ratings (<3.75 and<3.25, respectively) on the fearful attachment dimension of the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (χ 2 =7.172, p<.01 and χ 2 =7.792, p<.01, respectively). For the second definition only, more fearfully attached patients who were≤25 years of age at index depression onset were more likely to remit (χ 2 =7.617, p<.01) than those>25. The findings contribute to the scant literature on patient factors related to remission following IPT.

Casebook of Interpersonal Psychotherapyedited by MarkowitzJohn C. and WeissmanMyrna M.. New York, Oxford University Press, 2012, 504 pp., $55.00 (paper).

Casebook of Interpersonal Psychotherapyedited by MarkowitzJohn C. and WeissmanMyrna M.. New York, Oxford University Press, 2012, 504 pp., $55.00 (paper).

Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Women With Comorbid Depression and Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is prevalent among patients with depression and a risk factor for poor depression treatment outcomes. No known psychotherapy approaches have been developed to target the needs of patients with comorbid depression and chronic pain. This study's goals were to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and initial effects of interpersonal psychotherapy adapted for women with depression and chronic pain. Seventeen women with major depression and chronic pelvic pain were offered 8 sessions of individual treatment, interpersonal psychotherapy for depression and pain (IPT-P). Participants were recruited from a women's health clinic, were predominantly low-income and minority, and generally did not initially self-identify as depressed. Large effect sizes with significant improvements were found for depression severity and social adjustment; pain interference remained unchanged. Most enrolled patients reported a high level of satisfaction with IPT-P. This pilot study provides preliminary support for the use of IPT-P for patients with comorbid depression and chronic pain.

Interpersonal psychotherapy for co-occurring depression and chronic pain.

Up to 37% of individuals experience chronic pain during their lifetimes. Approximately one-fourth of primary care patients with chronic pain also meet criteria for major depression. Many of these individuals fail to receive psychotherapy or other treatment for their depression; moreover when they do, physical pain is often not addressed directly. Women, socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, African Americans and Latinos all report higher rates of pain and depression compared to other groups. This article describes a version of Interpersonal Psychotherapy tailored for patients with comorbid depression and chronic pain, Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression and Pain (IPT-P). While IPT-P potentially could be delivered to many different patient populations in a range of clinical settings, this article focuses on its delivery within primary care settings for socioeconomically disadvantaged women. Adaptations include a brief 8-session protocol that incorporates strategies for anticipating barriers to psychotherapy, accepting patients' conceptualization of their difficulties, encouraging patients to consider the impact of their pain on their roles and relationships, emphasizing self-care, incorporating pain management techniques, and flexible scheduling. In addition, IPT-P is designed as an adjunct to usual medical pain treatment, and seeks to engage non-treatment seeking patients in psychotherapy by focusing on accessibility and relevance of the intervention to concerns common among patients with pain. Identifying patients with comorbid depression and chronic pain and offering IPT-P as a treatment option has the potential to improve clinical outcomes for individuals with depression and chronic pain.

Sudden gains in interpersonal psychotherapy for depression

Sudden, precipitous improvements in depressive symptom severity have been identified as occurring among unipolar depressed individuals. These “sudden gains” have been associated with superior acute treatment outcome in several treatment modalities, including cognitive therapy. A better understanding of sudden gains may provide insight into the mechanisms of action in these and other psychotherapies. One efficacious therapy that has been overlooked in sudden gains research is interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT; Weissman, M. M., Markowitz, J. C., & Klerman, G. L. (2000). Comprehensive guide to interpersonal psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books). The present research examined the rates and concomitant features of sudden, precipitous improvements in depressive symptomotology among 185 women receiving IPT for recurrent depression. Sudden gains, defined using extant criteria for the Beck Depression Inventory, were assessed over 12 weeks of acute IPT treatment for depression and occurred for 33.5% of the sample. Sudden gains were not associated with diagnostic and demographic characteristics or with differential likelihood of achieving depression remission with IPT monotherapy during active treatment. Further, those with sudden gains were no more likely to maintain their recovery through maintenance treatment. The lack of impact of sudden gains on eventual outcome is discussed in terms of potentially disparate emphases and mechanisms of change between IPT and cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT).

Recent non-medication trials of interpersonal psychotherapy for depression

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited treatment described in a manual and tested in numerous clinical trials, with and without medication. Four recent clinical trials are reviewed in situations where medication as a first-line treatment for depression was not feasible (pregnancy, post partum, adolescence and in a developing country). The results show the efficacy of 12-16 wk of IPT compared to treatment as usual or no treatment in reducing depressive symptoms. The therapists providing the treatment included psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers as well as non-mental-health workers. We do not know if these patients might have done even better with medication, but each study showed a significant remission of symptoms of patients in IPT compared to controls. The use of efficacious, time-limited psychotherapy, which can be administered by non-medical personnel can be economical. An obstacle to providing evidence-based psychotherapies is the paucity of practitioners trained in them. Until the gap between training in psychotherapy and the research evidence in psychotherapy is bridged in training programmes, it will be difficult to provide patients with these treatments.

Chapter 3.

This review explores evidence-based treatment for depression within the college and university population. Treatments for depression in adults are among the most rigorous studied treatment modalities in the psychotherapy literature, providing consistent evidence for the efficacy of at least two treatments, cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy for depression, but the evidence for use of these therapies within the college population is sparse and inconclusive. The length of psychotherapy, diagnostic purity, and lack of adherence to specific theoretical models may be important elements contributing to the lack of treatment research on this population. More research should be focused on developing and evaluating specific treatments, which might address some of the unique stresses and dynamics within the college population.

Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression with panic spectrum symptoms: a pilot study

Patients whose depression is complicated by a lifetime history of panic symptoms display a poorer treatment response to both psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic interventions. A newly adapted psychosocial treatment for depression with lifetime panic spectrum symptoms was evaluated in an open pilot study.

Solution-focused brief therapy: a review of the outcome research.

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a new and increasingly used therapeutic approach that focuses on helping clients construct solutions rather than solve problems. The approach evolved in a clinical context amid many anecdotal reports of success from both therapists and clients, but it has not been subjected to controlled empirical testing until very recently. In this article we critically review all of the controlled outcome studies of SFBT to date (N = 15) to assess the extent to which SFBT has received empirical support. Five studies were well-controlled and all showed positive outcomes--four found SFBT to be better than no treatment or standard institutional services, and one found SFBT to be comparable to a known intervention: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT). Findings from the remaining 10 studies, which we consider moderately or poorly controlled, were consistent with a hypothesis of SFBT effectiveness. We conclude that the 15 studies provide preliminary support for the efficacy of SFBT but do not permit a definitive conclusion. Our critique highlights areas where methodology in future studies can be strengthened to provide more conclusive evidence of SFBT efficacy.

Treating older adults with interpersonal psychotherapy for depression

Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression (IPT) is a brief psychotherapy that has been found to be effective in treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and other problems in younger adults. In recent years, IPT has been used as a psychotherapy for depressed elderly. With its emphasis on addressing interpersonally relevant problems, IPT appears especially well suited to the life changes that many people experience in their later years. Consistent with results of research studies, I have found in clinical practice that IPT is effective in treating depression in older adults. In this article I describe IPT treatment of an elderly woman who developed MDD following the onset of dementia in her husband and the challenges she faced in making transitions in her role as caregiver. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 55: 949–960, 1999.

Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression: Overview, clinical efficacy, and future directions.

In this report we review the history of the development of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and the content of this intervention in both its acute and maintenance treatment forms. We trace its theoretical bases to the therapeutic traditions established by Adolf Meyer and Harry Stack Sullivan, as well as to the attachment theory of Bowlby. We examine its empirical foundation in studies linking change in the social environment to the onset and maintenance of major depression. We describe two acute treatment studies of IPT, each of which suggests that short-term IPT is equivalent in efficacy to well-controlled pharmacotherapy. Two of the prophylactic studies suggest that IPT Is superior to a no-treatment or medication clinic and placebo approach in the prevention of new episodes. In examining flow IPT exerts its affect, we first consider studies of process and then studies of process as it relates to outcome. Finally, we make suggestions for future directions in research on IPT of depression.

Therapist competence and patient outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

Therapist competence and patient outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

Therapist competence and patient outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

Therapist competence and patient outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

Role of manual-guided training in the conduct and efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy for depression.

Role of manual-guided training in the conduct and efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy for depression.

The relationship of patient difficulty to therapist performance in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression

The efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) in the treatment of ambulatory major depression was demonstrated in the recently completed NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (Elkin et al. 1986). Factors which enhance or impede the administration of the treatment delimit effective patient care and should therefore be understood. This report examines the relationship of pretreatment patient attitudes and intreatment patient difficulty to the ability of therapists to competently conduct IPT, using data from a training program in IPT. The hypothesis was that the patient's ability and willingness to establish a relationship and undertake the task demands of therapy would influence the therapist's ability to administer treatment. Patient difficulty was found to be strongly related to both therapists' and supervisors' judgements of therapist performance during IPT sessions: when patients were more difficult, therapists were judged to have performed more poorly. Patients' preexisting negative expectations about the potential outcome of treatment were associated with patient difficulty and poorer therapist performance, while the level of presenting symptomatology was not. Thus, it appears that the patient's ability to engage in a productive therapeutic relationship rather than the severity of his presenting problems influenced the therapist's ability to competently perform IPT. The findings regarding the relationship of patient difficulty to ratings of therapist performance suggest that patient difficulty should be taken into account in assessing therapist competence, whether for studies of therapeutic efficacy or for clinical supervision and training in general.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression: A Prototype for Operational Specificity

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1987, Vol 32(2), 183–185. Reviews the book, Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression by Gerald L. Klerman, Myrna M. Weissman, Bruce J. Rounsaville, and Eve S. Chevron (1984). The present volume represents a compelling and truly significant demonstration that comprehensive specificity need not be restricted to the behavioral paradigm. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) of depression includes concepts and techniques deeply rooted in dynamic psychotherapies, and integrates these within a systematic and strategic interpersonal approach to treating clinical depression. The organization, clarity, and detail with which they present the material do indeed enable the authors to succeed admirably in achieving these interrelated purposes. This is an important work. In describing an approach to depression that is structured, short-term, and gaining empirical support, it is most timely given the seeming frequency of major depression in outpatients and characteristic third-party coverage of a limited number of sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

The relation between specific and general dimensions of the psychotherapy process in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

The relation between specific and general dimensions of the psychotherapy process in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

The relation between specific and general dimensions of the psychotherapy process in interpersonal psychotherapy of depression.

Chez 11 psychotherapeutes est examinee la relation entre les dimensions du processus therapeutique evaluees a l'aide de l'echelle de Vancerbilt et les evaluations de la competence therapeutique par l'IPT

Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ArticleNo AccessInterpersonal Psychotherapy of DepressionA. JOHN RUSHA. JOHN RUSHSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Apr 2006https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.142.11.1381AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail "Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression." American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(11), pp. 1381–1382 Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. Personal login Institutional Login Sign in via OpenAthens Purchase Save for later Item saved, go to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry $35.00 Add to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry Checkout Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability. Not a subscriber? Subscribe Now / Learn More PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development. Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.). FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 142Issue 11 November 1985Pages 1381-1382 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 April 2006 Published in print 1 November 1985