Interpersonal Therapy (IT)
What is Interpersonal Therapy?
IPT is a time-limited, diagnosis-targeted, well-research, and structured treatment for major depressive disorder in which counselors help clients solve interpersonal crises as a way of relieving their symptoms and improving their quality of life. Instead of being solely person-based, IPT acknowledges that outside factors in a person's life, largely their relationships, have a dramatic impact on their mental well-being.
How does Interpersonal Therapy (IT) help people?
IPT focuses on the reciprocal relationship between mood symptoms and interpersonal relationships and assumes that improving the client's problematic relationships will improve depressive episodes. IPT teaches the client to interpret their emotions as social signals and uses this to foster interpersonal functioning and mobilize social support.