Benefits Of Interpersonal Psychotherapy As A Mental Health Treatment
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited psychotherapeutic modality that supports those struggling with mental health conditions and life challenges. Interpersonal psychotherapy is often used to improve the quality of relationships with others and help clients improve their social connections, namely for the treatment of depression. The term "interpersonal" describes how individuals connect themselves with social environments and their close relationships, meaning interpersonal psychotherapy takes a psychotherapeutic approach to understanding how individuals connect socially.
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for depression, eating disorders, and other conditions
Interpersonal counseling is mostly used to treat mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder. It is one of the most widely utilized forms of psychotherapy for depression, alongside modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy.
That said, IPT can also be used to help address anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. This form of psychotherapy treats individual symptoms by teaching the client interpersonal skills, including social and intimate relationship skills. Interpersonal counseling may also address grief, isolation from others, unsettling transitions in life, and stress.
The three phases of interpersonal psychotherapy treatment
IPT treatment is usually done in three phases. These include the following.
Phase one
Phase one of interpersonal psychotherapy often involves the assessment of relationship patterns, past traumatic experiences, recurring themes in interactions with others, and the existence of depressive symptoms. Often, the first one to three sessions are used for the psychotherapist to develop a concrete gathering of the client's history to develop a treatment plan.
If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.
Phase two
Phase two of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) may involve implementing solutions for various challenges discovered in the previous phase. Much like in behavioral psychotherapy, the nature of the suggested treatment solutions may be based on the client, their history, and their current struggles. For example, IPT for someone living with an eating disorder may look different than for someone experiencing major depression or bipolar disorder. Each solution is often designed to help the client achieve an improved quality of life and ability to function in social settings while maintaining healthy relationships with others.
When going through phase two, clients may benefit from understanding that solutions can take time and that learning a new skill may require practice. In addition, the interpersonal psychotherapist's solutions may not be comfortable or easy. Clients can notice improvements and progress in their treatment by doing the work. Improving the quality of one's interpersonal relationships is not necessarily straightforward but can lead to long-term results.
Phase three
By phase three, clients undergoing interpersonal psychotherapy may be more comfortable than during phases one and two. The results might start to manifest at this point in the treatment process, offering a sense of confidence to the client and showing them that they are making strides in their goals for psychotherapy.
What are the qualities of an effective interpersonal psychotherapist?
Interpersonal psychotherapy can be effective for many clients. However, the qualities of the provider may impact a client's experiences with the treatment. Below are several attributes that may be valuable to have in a provider.
The ability to identify challenges
Taking note of existing interpersonal challenges is the foundation of interpersonal psychotherapy. Being able to ask direct questions, understand relationship patterns, and help clients divulge information can be advantageous qualities for an interpersonal psychotherapist. In addition, after challenges are identified, the psychotherapist may help the client rank them from the highest priority to the lowest. Ranking allows the specialist to determine what skills and techniques to try first.
The ability to understand communication styles
When interpersonal psychotherapists work with a client, they often observe how the client communicates with them and may ask questions about their communication with partners, friends, and family. Communication styles can help the psychotherapist tailor their strategies so the client can understand and relate to them. In addition, communication can be essential to many relationships, so learning new communication techniques can help clients improve their relationships.
Active listening skills
The ability to actively listen can be an essential skill for any psychotherapist. If the psychotherapist listens to the client to respond and offer their insight without hearing what the client is saying or needs from them, they may miss out on nonverbal cues, core topics, or a client's desire to be validated. Clients may not only talk to a psychotherapist to get advice but also to be heard and understood. A psychotherapist using validating language like "I hear you" and "that must have been so difficult" can be relieving for many clients. Solutions can also be an aspect of psychotherapy but may not be the only aspect.
How can interpersonal therapy support you during hardships?
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) can help during challenging life transitions
Interpersonal psychotherapy can help clients experiencing challenging life transitions, including divorce, the loss of a loved one, loss of employment, or family planning. Individuals undergoing these transitions may not require extensive or long-term treatment. However, interpersonal counseling can address how their relationship patterns, communication, and connections relate to these transitions and the techniques to cope with them.
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) can help with conflicts within interpersonal relationships
Psychotherapists specializing in interpersonal psychotherapy often assist clients in a conflicts between them and another individual or social group. Conflict can occur for many reasons, whether due to misunderstandings, unresolved challenges, mismatching communication or love styles, or growing apart from one another. These psychotherapists take an individual approach to help clients understand their role in their relationship conflicts and how to set boundaries, de-escalate conflict, and keep themselves safe.
IPT may help with the lack of fulfillment in existing interpersonal relationships
Interpersonal psychotherapists can play a role in helping individuals who believe they are trapped in unfulfilling relationships. When this issue is present, it may indicate that the person's needs in the relationship are not being met. Perhaps they think they are overlooked, unappreciated, or uncared for. There may also be situations where the relationship is unhealthy, and getting out of it is the healthiest solution.
In some situations, an individual's self-esteem, personal beliefs, or cognitive distortions may keep them in a relationship when they no longer love the person or want to stay. While such challenges are often addressed by cognitive behavioral therapists, there are many ways that an interpersonal psychotherapist can help these individuals make healthier choices and create more nourishing connections.
IPT can be an effective treatment for symptoms of depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and other mental health challenges
Psychotherapy treatment options
Interpersonal psychotherapy is a niche type of counseling that allows clients to delve into their interpersonal connections with psychotherapeutic intervention. You can find an interpersonal psychotherapist by searching online or contacting your primary care physician for a referral. Many online psychologist directories list psychotherapists by specialty, as well.
Online interpersonal psychotherapy for depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions
If you struggle to find this type of specialist in person near you, you may benefit from trying online counseling through a platform like BetterHelp. With online interpersonal counseling, you can attend phone, video, or in-app messaging sessions from home. In addition, online platforms can be significantly more cost-effective than in-person psychotherapy.
Effectiveness of online therapy for depression, eating disorders, and other mental health challenges
Studies suggest that online IPT can be as effective as in-person psychotherapy. For example, one study indicates that the participants of an e-IPT intervention reported reduced symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders after partaking in the full treatment plan. In addition, the American Psychological Association endorses telehealth therapy as a practical option for many Americans.
Takeaway
Counseling can be valuable to many people with different frustrations, goals, and mental health diagnoses. If you’re curious about how counseling may be helpful to you, you can do more research. Online counseling may be a suitable option for people who would like to receive treatment from home due to scheduling or comfort reasons.
How does interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) help treat eating disorders?
Interpersonal psychotherapy is effective for treating eating disorders. Since interpersonal problems are common to people with eating disorders, interpersonal psychotherapists assist clients in improving and resolving interpersonal relationships, addressing issues like interpersonal sensitivity and interpersonal conflicts. The IPT approach to eating disorders, such as bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder, can lead to healthier eating habits and help reduce social isolation. Treatment often follows distinct phases guided by the structured IPT model and is conducted by skilled mental health professionals. Conditions like bulimia nervosa can particularly benefit from interventions structured by experienced mental health professionals.
What does interpersonal therapy do for depression?
There is a link between depression and interpersonal relationships. Although not all depression is caused by relationship issues, major depressive disorder can lead to interpersonal conflicts, worsen depressive symptoms, and cause problems in interpersonal relationships, including those in romantic relationships. These connection problems can then worsen depression. IPT helps clients address interpersonal conflicts and relationships, strengthening relationships to reduce depressive symptoms and serving as a maintenance treatment for major depression.
What is the difference between psychotherapy and CBT?
While both of these approaches are evidence-based psychological treatments with clinical guidelines applied by mental health professionals, they work differently. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a structured, goal-oriented form of talk therapy that focuses on specific conditions like PTSD and anxiety disorders. It uses targeted techniques to address distorted thinking. CBT is considered more of an acute treatment, often recommended for post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder symptoms, anxiety disorders, and other mental health conditions.
On the other hand, psychotherapy is a longer-term approach that includes various theoretical and practical subtypes, such as humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and interpersonal therapy. Psychotherapy explores past experiences, life circumstances, and emotional patterns. It often involves understanding early relationships through frameworks like attachment theory and examining the individual's attachment style. This approach is empirically supported for complex conditions, including recurrent major depression, and can be effective for individuals recovering from traumatic events. It may also be sought as a path to self-discovery.
What is an example of interpersonal psychotherapy?
Interpersonal therapy uses a variety of techniques, including interpersonal inventory, typically conducted in the initial treatment phase. An IPT therapist analyzes the client’s past and present relationships, using methods like communication analysis to help identify patterns, including interpersonal deficits and strengths, and relationship difficulties to use as treatment progresses.
Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) is an add-on therapy that is used to treat bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, postpartum depression, and other affective disorders. The idea is that most of us do not live in social isolation, so to help depressed patients, a therapist looks at the person’s entire pattern of living and social relationships to determine what external cues are triggering mood changes. It considers daily routines and life events that may trigger mood changes, recognizing the importance of stable social rhythms and interpersonal support. Postpartum depression is one specific condition frequently addressed with IPSRT.
What is the focus of treatment in interpersonal psychotherapy?
The basic principles of interpersonal psychotherapy are:
Your current mood is linked to problematic interpersonal relationships
Improving these relationships will lead to an improvement in symptoms
Improvement in symptoms then leads to better interpersonal relationships
Therefore, an IPT therapist focuses on interpersonal functioning. According to interpersonal theory, solving interpersonal issues can help protect against psychiatric disorders and create healing cycles. IPT is often used for treating depression, including recurrent major depression, and conditions such as late-life depression.
The NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program was a research intervention published in the American Psychiatric Press that examined randomized controlled trials of two different forms of therapy, CBT and IPT, to determine their efficacy in treating outpatient depression. Comparative trials found that both demonstrated efficacy superior to other therapies, but it is not yet clear whether one is more effective than the other. Due to research success, both CBT and IPT-A are the first-line talk therapy recommendations for depressed adolescents and may be attended as individual or group sessions. IPT is also considered the recommended therapy for depression according to the World Psychiatry Association, the international umbrella organization of psychiatric societies.
Research conducted by the American Psychiatric Association and studies from Oxford University Press support IPT’s effectiveness. As a result of this evidence, both CBT and IPT-A are considered first-line treatments for adolescent depression. IPT’s effectiveness in clinical settings is also highlighted in resources like the clinician's quick guide and basic books about IPT.
What is role play in interpersonal psychotherapy?
Role play in individual or group interpersonal therapy allows clients to practice newly learned interpersonal skills and explore different perspectives. Sessions are guided by an IPT therapist or other mental health professionals. This technique from clinical psychology strengthens the therapeutic alliance, which is essential for addressing mood disorders and other psychiatric disorders, while also helping build strong social supports that reduce isolation.
What is the difference between CBT and humanistic existential psychotherapy?
CBT is a directive therapy, a goal-oriented approach that provides effective treatment for psychological symptoms. In humanistic existential therapy, the therapist takes a more non-directive approach and provides empathy and unconditional positive regard to facilitate the client’s self-actualization. It may be recommended as one of several maintenance therapies for patients who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness or are experiencing suicidal ideation, helping them maintain overall mental health and wellness through a more holistic psychotherapy practice.
What is the difference between CBT and client-centered therapy?
Both CBT and person-centered therapy are highly effective, evidence-based approaches conducted by trained mental health professionals. CBT is a structured approach, teaching coping strategies to manage stressful life events and improve the patient’s ability to recognize and change their way of thinking, thereby improving the patient’s mood overall. Client-centered, or patient-centered therapy, is more patient-driven, with the therapist following the patient’s lead to facilitate a journey of self-discovery.
What is the difference between cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychotherapy?
A newer approach, positive psychotherapy, was influenced by both humanistic and psychodynamic theories and focuses on empowering the individual through examining their strengths, skills, and positive attributes. It has shown promising clinical applications, especially in promoting resilience and overall well-being.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a structured, problem-focused, and time-limited approach that works on developing healthier thinking patterns and coping strategies. It is widely used by mental health professionals to treat a variety of emotional and behavioral challenges.
What is the difference between cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy?
Both cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy are approaches used in clinical practice to treat the symptoms of PTSD. There are two of three psychological treatments that are commonly prescribed for this disorder, the other being cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive processing therapy is related to CBT and relies on the idea of challenging automatic thoughts that can be problematic, while prolonged exposure therapy exposes the client slowly and with supervision to triggering situations to build mental resilience. Both approaches are common among mental health professionals and are supported by clinical studies published in journals like General Psychiatry.
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