The process of change in Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) for depression: a case study for the new IPT therapist.

This case study involves a set of transcripts of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) sessions from the Christchurch Psychotherapy for Depression Study. The case study explores the techniques employed by the therapist for a depressed patient who has identified interpersonal disputes as the interpersonal area to focus on. The psychotherapeutic interventions utilized by the IPT therapist included: seeking information; exploring parallels in other relationships; exploring relationship patterns; exploring communication patterns; signalling what is significant; providing support, exploring affect; exploring options; problem-solving; drawing analogy; and challenging. The themes that emerged in the patient's response to IPT were: struggling, deconstructing, connecting, practicing and reconstructing.