Definition
Interpersonal psychotherapy is a form of therapy focused on resolving interpersonal-based issues, which are deemed as being the precipitant of the mental health concern(s) the individual is experiencing.
Overview
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) was originally developed as a form of psychological treatment for those suffering depression (Hinrichsen 2008). As the name suggests, the focus of IPT is primarily on the interpersonal context within which the individual exists and therefore assumes that the cause of the depression, for example, is some form of social or interpersonal event (e.g., death of a loved one, change in job situation, difficulties connecting socially with others, etc.). As such, there are four key interpersonal problem areas upon which therapy might focus: (1) grief and loss; (2) interpersonal disputes; (3) interpersonal role transitions; and/or (4) interpersonal deficits. Fundamentally then, the primary goals of IPT are to reduce the symptoms of...
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Mitchell, L.K. (2019). Interpersonal Psychotherapy. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_421-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_421-1
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