Interpersonal psychotherapy is a brief focused form of psychotherapy developed in the 1980’s. It has a substantial evidence base and has been used in a range of conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, eating disorders, dysthymia, and a range of age groups. In the elderly evidence has been published on its effectiveness in the acute and maintenance phases of depressive disorder. IPT has been identified in the National Service Framework, Older Adults, as one of a range of psychological interventions that should be available to older adults.
This presentation reviews the experience of introducing IPT to a multiprofessional group in the NHS in the Department of Psychiatry of Old Age in Oxford. This group included junior psychiatrists in training, psychologists and psychology trainees and community nurses. Some members of the group had no formal training in psychological treatments, some had introductory experience of psychodynamic psychotherapy and CBT.
The multiprofessional group has been meeting for 18 months and during that time we have become aware of some of the potential pitfalls and the most important aspects of the treatment that need to be adhered to for it to succeed.
Patient factors relate to clarity about the focus of the treatment, accurate assessment of the patient’s motivation and clarity about the goals of treatment. Written information for the patient has been a helpful educational tool. Therapist factors relate to training in history taking related to interpersonal relationships and emotions and basic understanding of the therapeutic relationship, constant reference to the model being used and training in termination issues. The therapists found it helpful to have a focus and time frame for their routine work with depressed patients and a structure within which to develop skills they were aware of, but had not been formally trained in. Clinical examples will be used to develop these points and additional information provided about the training and supervision structure.
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