Introduction to IPT

Question 1

What is the format of IPT?

Answer 1

16 weeks
EARLY SESSION: Educational (assessment, diagnosis, formulation, Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Severity Scale, Interpersonal Inventory) Patient is given a sick role (Markowitz & Weissman, 2004).
MIDDLE SESSION: Reflective to goal setting, develop strategies. Expression of emotion is encourage (Markowitz & Weissman, 2004). Therapist does not attemot to change the patient’s attachment style, but help them meet their desired relationships (Jesus Mari et al., 2005).
FINAL SESSIONS: Revise, consolidate and outline plans. Can renegotiate contract to have maintanence sessions (Jesus Mari et al., 2005). The time limit encourages the patient to take action (Markowitz & Weissman, 2004).

Question 2

What has IPT been effective for? (3 different researchers)

Answer 2

1. Particularly effective for elderly and adolescent depression (life changes; Greggory, 1999)
2. Has been found effective for social phobias, bipolar, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, ptsd - HOWEVER not for substance abuse (Markowitz & Weismann, 2004)
3. Compared to CBT, IPT was more effective (but not more accepted). It had lower-drop out rates and more effective than a placebo (Jesus Mari et al., 2005), most effective when combined with medication over a two year period (Brown, 2002).

Question 3

What does IPT aim to tackle?

Answer 3

Social functioning issues that arise in four different domains

1. Interpersonal disputes
2. Role transitions
3. Grief
4. Interpersonal sensitivity

Question 4

Who recommended IPT?

Answer 4

(APA, 2013) for depression

(NICE, 2009) for people with persistent and mild depressive symptoms

Question 5

What does IPT aim to do throughout the therapy for a person?

Answer 5

Understand the role of (e.g., depression) on their functioning (temporary sick role)
Help them appreciate that this may effect their socialability and in turn relationships
Help them understand what their ideal and actual relationships are are different (Carl Rogers, Humanism)
Help them develop skills and strategies to improve their social context

Question 6

Issues with IPT

Answer 6

1. It is not a cohesive theory, it is based on an amalgamation of theories
2. The diathesis stress model
3. Fails to recognise the patient may have genetic predispositions to
4. Once the client has fixed their functioning, returning to the setting may reverse the work (need family therapy for example)
5. Training for IPT is highly labour intensive
6. Neglects biological aspects of diseases (however, Sullivan actively encouraged the exploration of biological foundations of psychiatry. But he believed that psychiatry was placing too much emphasis on the physical symptoms and not looking beyond. Weissman (2007) also said that they recognise depression can be genetically caused, but this therapy focuses on the social triggers).

Other issues within the criticism of the theories

Question 7

What kinda therapy is IPT?

Answer 7

PsychoEDUCATIONAL

Question 8

In regards to psychodynamic therapies how is it similar / different?

Answer 8

SIMILAR:

• Relies on attachment theory
• Believes that we rely on a part of our self that is embedded in the subconscious, and that this can be revealed.

DIFFERENT:
- More hands on than any other psychodynamic, for example, gives homework ‘have a deep converstation’, join a club

Question 9

What IPT techniques are used?

Answer 9

Firstly an interpersonal inventory is done: can establish current relationships, quality and avaliability of them
Depression inventory: Beck and hamilton
Communication analysis: Asks the client to (like a movie script) explain their conversation with a good friend (context, language etc). They are also asked to explain what they intended to communicate.
Role play is also used to help establish this furhter
Decision analysis: Used to understand what the patient wants. Depressed people may find they are a burden etc, so the therapist may be more active at first, generating solutions to help them achieve what they want