Interpersonal psychotherapy falls under the broader umbrella of mental health treatments and psychological interventions. Gerald Klerman and Myrna Weissman developed Interpersonal psychotherapy in 1969 in New England. They developed it as a short method to treat depression. The phenomenon focuses on the interpersonal relationships and the role in the emergence of mood disorders. IPT has grown a lot, and now it helps treat many mental health issues.
What is interpersonal psychotherapy?
IPT is a type of psychotherapy, and this Psychotherapy is most likely to be effective in freeing the symptoms of mood disorders and making interpersonal functioning better for the individuals. IPT addresses the present issues and the relationship issues, not issues from childhood or early development.
What is the process of IPT?
IPT’s core belief is that your psychological distress often stems from problems you’re currently facing in your relationships with others.
IPT involves four main categories:
- Strained relationships that cause unrest and emotional pain.
- Major life transitions, loss of job, or becoming a parent, that impact self perception and interpersonal relationships.
- Sorrow and loss
- Trouble in forming and keeping relationships going.
When individuals come to know and understand the fruitful strategies that can help them deal with their relationship issues, their psychological symptoms often decrease.
Core Principles of Interpersonal Therapy
Interpersonal Therapy adheres to these fundamental understandings:
- Mental health issues arise from disruptions in important relationships and social positions, and it is not an intrinsic personal flaw. This perspective is frequently referred to as the “sick role.”
- Strong social connections can safeguard against depression and other mental health conditions.
- IPT works to improve how people function in their current relationships to reduce psychological symptoms, though it understands that past attachment patterns may shape the present connections.
Concept of Interpersonal Resolution
That are the successful management or conclusion of difficulties, conflicts, or challenges that arise between individuals in their relationships.
Interpersonal Resolution about finding ways to:
- Solve problems that emerge in interactions with others
- Navigate disagreements in a constructive manner.
- Improve communication and understanding.
- Adjust expectations within relationships.
- Adapt to changes in relational roles.
Through Interpersonal Psychotherapy, individuals gain the tools and awareness to resolve relationship difficulties and ease mental health symptoms.
Interpersonal Therapy Methods
The following methods are mostly used in the IPT:
Relationship review
The relationship review is done at the start of the therapy. Here, the professional review past and present relationships of the individuals to identify and understand the problems and sort their relationship problems into one of the four specific types.
- The “closeness circle” is an important method that helps this process.
Grief Assessment
In this technique, the professionals understand the unresolved grief that is the reason for downheartedness and other psychological struggles. The technique involves three steps:
- Help the client understand why grief can sometimes make them feel depressed.
- Encourage emotional release for cathartic relief.
- Support the client build new connections and engage in fresh activities to facilitate recovery from loss.
A farewell letter can be a valuable tool to understand the grieving process.
Communication Pattern Assessment
The communication analysis can make improvements in your interpersonal functioning, as it helps in communication skills. Therapists usually ask clients to recount a specific interaction in detail, like a script. The process includes the setting and the way things were communicated. The therapist explores the gap between the client’s intended message and their understanding of the message’s actual impact.. It aims to inform the client about shortcomings in their communication behaviour and make it better. Clarification is also important in the communication assessment, as it removes misunderstandings and clarifies miscommunications in relationships.
- The professionals use the “wanting to be heard” worksheet to help individuals identify their communication habits to build better relationships.
Role Playing
It is used in Interpersonal Psychotherapy to assist with conflicts in roles, role transitions, and to improve social interaction. The therapist assumes the role of the other individual to re-enact past or anticipate future client interactions. The practice improves the client’s social skills and increases their chances to achieve desired outcomes.
Issue resolution
Issue resolutions assist the individual to deal with challenging relationships and major life changes. Therapists collaborate with clients to find out potential solutions and guide them to select the most beneficial path forward. In some cases, they might employ problem solving techniques to assist clients get a more optimistic view of the circumstances. Shaista Nasir is an Expat Psychologist in Amsterdam, and she provides professional support to people suffering from depression, anxiety, and relationship challenges. She helps the people of the Netherlands via online interaction to resolve their problems with interpersonal psychotherapy.
Social Abilities
Individuals who struggle with social interactions often benefit from social skills training. The social skills bring betterment in each feature of the personal connections. Key areas of instruction cover:
- Assertiveness
- Understanding others’ feelings
- Resolving disputes
- Attentive listening
Conclusion
Interpersonal Psychotherapy is an effective and practical mental health approach to address how our relationships impact our psychological well being. IPT provides a clear framework to understand and ease distress. It focuses on present day relationship issues. Various techniques of IPT, like relationship review, grief assessment, communication analysis, role-playing, problem-solving, and social skills training, help individuals overcome their interpersonal challenges. Interpersonal Psychotherapy works well to resolve relational difficulties of the individuals and decrease their psychological symptoms.
