To prevent depression recurrence, interpersonal psychotherapy is a first-line treatment with long-term benefits

Bottom Line
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is efficacious for acute depression and for preventing recurrences. Patients treated successfully with acute IPT alone benefit from varied doses of maintenance IPT. Combining IPT-M with antidepressant medication can be more potent than IPT-M alone. For late-life depression, medication appears to be most effective for maintenance treatment.

Related Resources

Media
• Video demonstration, role-play transcripts, lesson plans, and quizzes. In: Appendices in and DVD companion to Ravitz P, Watson P, Grigoriadas S. Interpersonal psychother­apy for depression. New York, NY: Norton; 2013.
• Video demonstration of IPT sessions. In: DVD companion to Dewan, M, Steenbarger, B, Greenberg, R, eds. The art and science of brief psychotherapies: An illustrated guide. 2nd ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2012.

Text
• Stuart S, Robertson M. Interpersonal psychotherapy: a cli­nician’s guide. London, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis; 2012.
• Weissman MM, Markowitz JC, Klerman GL. Comprehensive guide to interpersonal psychotherapy. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2000.
• Weissman M, Markowitz J, Klerman GL. Clinician’s quick guide to interpersonal psychotherapy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.

Websites
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy Institute. https://iptinstitute.com.
• International Society for Interpersonal Psychotherapy. https://interpersonalpsychotherapy.org.

Drug Brand Names
Amitriptyline • Elavil       Nortriptyline • Pamelor
Imipramine • Tofranil     Paroxetine • Paxil

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Samantha L. Bernecker, MS, and Nicholas R. Morrison for their assistance with the research review.

Disclosures
The authors report no financial relationship with any company whose products are mentioned in this article or with manufacturers of competing products.