Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
A time-limited therapy that treats symptoms by working on the relationships and role changes they are bound up with.
- Developed by
- Gerald Klerman and Myrna Weissman, 1969, Yale University
- Originally for
- Major depression
- Course length
- Three phases over 12–16 weeks; NICE describes 8–16 sessions
- Focus areas
- Grief · Role disputes · Role transitions · Interpersonal deficits
What it is
IPT is a brief, attachment-focused therapy aimed at resolving interpersonal problems and achieving symptomatic recovery. It treats the difficulty in its social context rather than as a fact about you alone.
Work is organised around four problem areas: grief after a loss, conflict in a significant relationship, difficulty adapting to a change in role or relationship, and social isolation.
The course runs in three phases — evaluation and diagnosis in at most three sessions, then targeted work on the identified problem area, then a closing phase that consolidates what changed.
What it looks like in session
- 1Mapping the important relationships around the difficulty
- 2Choosing one focus area to work on, rather than everything at once
- 3Working through grief where a loss has not been given room
- 4Naming a role dispute clearly, then changing how it is handled
- 5Preparing for a transition — leaving, arriving, graduating, moving
- 6A defined end point, with the closing sessions used to mark progress
What the evidence says
IPT is an empirically supported treatment for depressive disorders, with research also covering bipolar disorder, bulimia nervosa, PTSD and postpartum depression.
NICE's guidance on depression in adults includes IPT among recommended psychological treatments, usually delivered in 8 to 16 sessions, with more where there are additional health problems or complex social needs.
The World Health Organization publishes a group IPT manual for depression, which is part of why it is used well beyond specialist clinics.
Nothing here is a prediction about your own treatment.
Often used for
Wondering if IPT is right for you?
You do not have to decide in advance. We work that out together in the first session, and often use more than one method.
Book a SessionOther methods we use
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
A structured, problem-focused therapy that works on the thinking patterns and behaviour keeping a difficulty going.
Read moreDBTDialectical Behavior Therapy
A skills-based therapy for emotions that arrive fast and hard, built on holding acceptance and change at the same time.
Read moreMBSRMindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
An eight-week training programme in mindfulness — attention, body awareness and movement — used to change how stress lands.
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