Interpersonal therapy is a name for 2 kinds of therapy that sound the same. The first is a psychodynamic therapy that is powerful and analyzes the interpersonal field that is constantly operating in any social interaction.

At HSP, we employ scientifically validated Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) that is often used  for depression, but has received support as a mode of treatment for many different challenges in life such as marital problems, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and more. It was influenced by the psychodynamic therapy above but does not emphasize the internal psychic forces that act on the individual, but by interpersonal interactions outside the individual.

IPT was developed in the 1970’s and focuses on relief of symptoms and social impairment due to depression, which is treated as a medical illness.   It links the flow between interpersonal events and mood; this therapy is time-limited to 16 sessions and enjoys 35 years of research showing its efficacy. It structured to address several factors that contribute to depression and gives the client recommendations to follow over discrete phases of treatment. Most recently, IPT was brought to the federal government to help veterans with depression in the VA  system.