IPT is a highly structured, time-limited approach,
which works on the principle that psychological
symptoms of depression can be improved if we
improve our interactions with others. Similar to
CBT it maintains a here and now focus and does
not delve into past experiences of
relationships. IPT treatment encourages you to
utilise your social support and network to aid
your recovery. As a stand-alone approach to
treatment this will last 12-16
sessions.
Treatment will include 4 assessments session, during
which we will explore the story of your
depression which we will map onto a timeline.
This can help establish when depression first
became a feature which will guide our focal
area. The assessment sessions will also involve
gather information about your current social
support network and how you access this for
support, as well as how this has changed since
your episode of depression.
The treatment sessions will involve different
strategies depending on the focal area. Each
session will involve an evaluation of your
depression symptoms over the week and how these
have been effecting depending on your social
interactions or possibly lack of. Strategies
include communication analysis for example –
exploring in detail how you effectively
communicate with others; how successful this was
and ways to improve this. Treatment may last
between 6-8 sessions.
The final part of treatment is focused on relapse
planning; reviewing what you have learnt about
your experience of depression; how you utilise
support from others to aid your recovery;
warnings signs for relapse; how to manage a
relapse as well as how to access support in the
future if needed. This can involve 2-4
sessions.
I regularly incorporate elements of IPT into my practice even if using CBT and EMDR as one of the main messages from IPT is how we access support from others to help in the recovery of mental health.