We conducted a pilot study to assess the potential effectiveness of group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G) as a treatment for postnatal depression (PND). The study was also established to test a treatment manual for IPT-G, assess the acceptability of this format for participants and test a recruitment strategy for a randomised controlled trial. 18 mothers diagnosed with PND participated in 2 individual session and 8 sessions of group IPT. A two-hour psychoeducational session was also held for the partners of the participants. Measures of depressive symptomatology and social adjustment were administered by an independent clinician at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 3 months post treatment. Patient satisfaction with the treatment was also evaluated. Severity scores on the BDI, EPDS and the HDRS decreased from pre- to post-treatment. This was maintained at three months follow up. No overall improvement in the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report was noted, although there was improvement in their relationship with their significant other. The results confirm previous work that IPT-G may improve symptom severity for women suffering from postnatal depression. Limitations included the use of antidepressant therapy by 67% of subjects and the lack of a control group. There is a need for further randomised controlled trials of IPT-G with larger sample sizes to establish its effectiveness as treatment for PND.

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The main purpose of this longitudinal study was to conceptualize the self-efficacy of aspiring principals as a dynamic concept. This study aimed to explore the structure and relations between the components of self-efficacy and to determine the nature and direction of change in the perceived self-efficacy of aspiring principals following a 2-year training program. The study was based on Facet Theory (Gutman, Psychmetrika 33:469-506, 1968), but also included some traditional statistics. The present study was carried out in two stages during 2005-2007. One-hundred and fifty aspiring principals from five academic colleges and universities in Israel who participated in a 2-year training program completed the same self-efficacy questionnaire during the first month of the program (October 2005-stage 1 and during the last month of the program (May 2007-stage 2). The nature as well as the direction of the aspiring principals' perceived self-efficacy changed following the 2-year training program. The perception of the nature of the principal's role remained unchanged.

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