Books / Clinical practice & common factors
Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression
Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression (1984), by Gerald L. Klerman, Myrna M. Weissman, Bruce J. Rounsaville and Eve S. Chevron, presents a time-limited approach to depression that focuses on current relationships and life events.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Gerald L. Klerman, Myrna M. Weissman, Bruce J. Rounsaville and Eve S. Chevron
Edition: 1st edition (1984)
Publisher: Basic Books
Edition year: 1984
Language and origin: English (United States)
ISBN: 9780465033966
Form and genre: Treatment Manual & Clinical Guide
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Pragmatic medical model: assigning the "Sick Role" (Talcott Parsons) to relieve self-blame while mobilizing responsibility for recovery; The "Interpersonal Inventory": mapping significant current relationships and linking symptom onset to interpersonal events; Four focal Interpersonal Problem Areas: (1) Grief (complicated bereavement), (2) Interpersonal Role Disputes, (3) Role Transitions, and (4) Interpersonal Deficits (social isolation); Three Phases of time-limited (12–16 week) IPT: Initial, Middle (focal work), and Termination; Communication analysis, decision analysis, and role-playing without interpreting transference
APA 7th reference: Klerman, G. L., Weissman, M. M., Rounsaville, B. J., & Chevron, E. S. (1984). Interpersonal psychotherapy of depression. Basic Books.
What it is & historical context
Interpersonal psychotherapy was developed through research by Klerman, Weissman and colleagues on depression. This 1984 book presents their structured, time-limited approach. An early maintenance study found no statistically significant difference in relapse between medication alone and medication with psychotherapy, while reporting a benefit of psychotherapy for social adjustment.
Core clinical themes & arguments
The authors describe an interpersonal inventory and four areas of focus: grief, role disputes, role transitions and interpersonal difficulties. The approach considers current relationships and life events alongside depressive symptoms. This focus is not a claim that every depressive episode has an interpersonal cause or that resolving a relationship difficulty guarantees recovery.
Clinical practice, reception & legacy
IPT has been studied in different settings and populations. In a 1989 US trial, IPT and cognitive behavioural therapy were compared with imipramine or placebo, both with clinical management. The authors found few significant differences in mean outcomes in the primary analyses; secondary results varied with initial severity. Findings from this trial do not establish that treatments are equivalent for every person.
Reader level & educational scope
This entry describes a clinical guide and selected research for educational purposes. Treatment guidance and evidence vary by population, condition and setting; it does not provide individual treatment advice.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program: General Effectiveness of Treatments (Irene Elkin, M. Tracie Shea, John T. Watkins, Stanley D. Imber, Stuart M. Sotsky, John F. Collins, et al., 1989)
Reference: Elkin, I., Shea, M. T., Watkins, J. T., Imber, S. D., Sotsky, S. M., Collins, J. F., Glass, D. R., Pilkonis, P. A., Leber, W. R., Docherty, J. P., Fiester, S. J., & Parloff, M. B. (1989). National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program: General effectiveness of treatments. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 971–982.
A 1989 US multicentre trial randomly assigned 250 outpatients with major depression to interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, imipramine with clinical management, or placebo with clinical management for 16 weeks. Results varied by outcome and baseline severity; a lack of statistically significant difference does not establish equivalence.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: In the Initial Phase of IPT, the therapist conducts an "Interpersonal Inventory" and links the onset of the current depressive episode to one of four focal interpersonal problem areas: Grief, Interpersonal Role Disputes, Role Transitions, or Interpersonal Deficits. (Codified in Chapters 4 through 9 of Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression (1984).) [Source 1: Klerman, G. L., Weissman, M. M., Rounsaville, B. J., & Chevron, E. S. (1984). Interpersonal psychotherapy of depression. Basic Books.]
Claim 2: The 1989 NIMH collaborative trial compared 16 weeks of IPT, cognitive behavioural therapy, imipramine with clinical management and placebo with clinical management in 250 outpatients with major depression. (The primary analyses found few significant differences in mean outcomes; secondary findings varied with initial severity. The trial does not establish equivalence across all patients or settings.) [Source 2: Elkin, I., Shea, M. T., Watkins, J. T., Imber, S. D., Sotsky, S. M., Collins, J. F., et al. (1989). National Institute of Mental Health Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program: General effectiveness of treatments. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 971–982.]
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Pending verification: Bibliographic record of the 1984 guide. Detailed claims about the full text remain subject to review.
Supports: Abstract of the 1989 multicentre trial: participant group, treatment conditions, primary and secondary findings; full text not checked.
Supports: Pending verification: Updated clinical manual extending the 1984 text across global and transdiagnostic applications.
Supports: Abstract of the maintenance study: relapse comparison and social adjustment findings; full text not checked.
Supports: Publisher record lists the 1984 publication and ISBN 9780465033966.