Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) for Depression in Primary Care

Abstract

Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) comes directly from interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), an evidenced-based psychotherapy developed by Klerman and Weissman. It [IPC?] is a briefer, more structured version for use primarily in non-mental health settings, such as primary care clinics when treating patients with symptoms of depression. National health-care reform, which will bring previously uninsured persons into care and provide mechanisms to support mental health training of primary care providers, will increase interest in briefer psychotherapy. This paper describes the rationale, development, evidence for efficacy, and basic structure of IPC and also presents an illustrated clinical vignette. The evidence suggests that IPC is efficacious in reducing symptoms of depression; that it can be used by mental health personnel of different levels of training, and that the number of sessions is flexible depending on the context and resources. More clinical trials are needed, especially ones comparing IPC to other types of care used in the delivery of mental health services in primary care.

Task shifting interpersonal counseling for depression: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial in primary care

“…Following the manual [28, 43], IPC comprised a 1-h session per week, with 3–4 sessions in total. Sessions were provided either at the clinic or in household visits, based on the individual’s preference.…”

Addressing critical gaps in the treatment of eating disorders

“…These disorders typically begin in adolescence and the young adult years (Micali et al, ; Stice et al, ; Volpe et al, ), and they constitute one of the most common mental health problems seen by college counseling centers/health services (Resnick, ). In this study, several reasons dictated the choice of IPT: (1) readily acceptable to therapists and clients (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, ; Tanofsky‐Kraff & Wilfley, ); (2) hypothesized to result in high rates of adoption because it is perceived as similar to the type of psychotherapy many therapists in student counseling centers provide; (3) IPT, with its focus on interpersonal issues, is particularly appropriate for a population of young adults, especially females (Weisz & Hawley, ; Wilson et al, ); (4) broadly applicable to a wide range of clients with an eating disorder (Wilson et al, ); and (5) IPT may have broader therapeutic effects than just those on eating disorders (Cuijpers et al, ; Markowitz et al, ; Weissman et al, ). Thus, in this study, careful attention was given to setting and treatment type so as to maximize implementation success and sustainability.…”

Is interpersonal counselling (IPC) sufficient treatment for depression in primary care patients? A pilot study comparing IPC and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)

“…It is a brief, manualized psychological intervention lasting for six or optionally seven sessions (Weissman & Klerman, 1993).…”

“…It was recommended that the sessions should last 45 minutes (not the original 30 min.). The purposes of the visits were outlined in a 30-page session-by-session checklist based on the descriptions by Weissman & Klerman (1993) and Judd et al (2004) of the structure of IPC. The aim of the first session was to establish rapport, determine the presence of depression and introduce IPC.…”

“…In the middle phase (sessions 3-5) the nurse helped the patient deal more positively with the identified problem area, and the last two sessions addressed the termination of the IPC relationship by reviewing developments over the course of treatment and the patient's current state. It was also possible for the nurses to give the patients homework sheets for intervening work between the sessions in order to accelerate the process of change in each problem area (Weissman & Klerman, 1993, Weissman 1995a, 1995b. Maintenance sessions were recommended if the patient's problems required them, but only after a new contract had been negotiated.…”