Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Click here to learn more about Interpersonal Psychotherapy and how you can use it to enhance the therapeutic process for your clients.

By Jamie Frew on Jun 16, 2025.

Fact Checked by RJ Gumban.

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What is Interpersonal Psychotherapy?

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a short-term type of psychotherapy that focuses on an individual’s interpersonal relationships being connected to their psychological well-being (Schimelpfening, 2018). Gerald Klerman and Myrna Weissman developed IPT in the 1970s. Since then, IPT has become a well-known and widely utilized form of psychotherapy (Good Therapy, 2009).

IPT uses techniques that help the individual learn about themselves and work on the relationships in their life. The central premise of IPT focuses on the quality of the relationships that one holds. To comprehend the core values of IPT better, we can think of the relationships and psychopathology as circular.

Ultimately, IPT believes that psychopathology and relationships may have a reciprocal influence on each other. For example, an individual living with mental health concerns may isolate themselves and put pressure on their existing relationships with their peers. Simultaneously, those now strained relationships can have a detrimental impact on the individual’s psychological well-being.

IPT is a short-term psychotherapy option. During the time spent together by the psychologist and client, they will work together to identify problems that may be related to specific relationships within the client’s life. Overall, IPT focuses on four main subsections:

Grief

IPT focuses on the aspect of grief in an individual’s life, which may contribute to psychopathology and interpersonal relationship issues. Both distorted and delayed grief can impact the way in which an individual socializes with others.

Role dispute

Role dispute is where an individual has expectations of their peers which are not met and vice versa. IPT recognizes that the aspect of role dispute can have a negative impact on an individual’s psychological well-being when there is a disconnect between the expectations that are held and the behavior that is displayed.

Role transition

IPT also encompasses the idea of role transition being difficult to navigate regarding relationships with others. Many role transitional phases may impact an individual's ability to be suitably present with their peers. These could include getting married, getting divorced, becoming a parent, and retiring. IPT suggests that these phases of life can also lead to psychopathology.

Interpersonal challenges

These challenges can make it difficult for an individual to build and maintain strong and healthy relationships with others. Interpersonal challenges can mean that the individual may have feelings of inadequacy, may find it difficult to express their emotions, or may even have certain beliefs that may make it difficult to effectively communicate to others (Schimelpfening, 2018).

How is Interpersonal Psychotherapy helpful?

IPT is not only helpful for individuals who are struggling with their social relationships, it can also be helpful for those who are living with psychopathology. There are many benefits of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Initially, IPT was created to be a short-term treatment for depression, but it has also been shown to be extremely beneficial for those who are living with other mental health diagnoses (Schimelpfening, 2018).

IPT may be beneficial for individuals who are living with:

Anxiety
Bipolar disorder
Dysthymia
Eating disorders
PTSD
Social anxiety disorders
Life adjustments and transitions
Substance and alcohol use disorders
Grief
Relationship problems

(Schimelpfening, 2018).

Majorly, IPT is focused on the relationships that an individual holds and what role they plan to play in their life. IPT supports individuals in comprehending how certain relationships in their lives may influence them and how their behavior can contribute to these relationships. The overall goal of IPT is to focus on interpersonal relationships and help people function better socially to reduce feelings of psychopathology (Schimelpfening, 2018).

A good way to comprehend how IPT can benefit your clients is to think of the therapy as a circular movement. IPT focuses on the relationships that an individual has and if they are beneficial or not. It is based on the idea that the relationships that someone holds can potentially increase or decrease feelings of depression. Consequently, feelings of depression can negatively impact relationships with peers (Schimelpfening, 2018).

Targeted focus

With IPT, there is a targeted focus on an individual's relationships. This differs from other psychotherapy options, such as Person-Centered Therapy or Rogerian Therapy. These alternative therapy options allow individuals to self-explore, and they don’t have a specific focus on behaviors, symptoms or cognitive patterns. IPT’s focused nature on relationships allows individuals to get to the core of issues quicker within the short timeframe that this type of therapy allows.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy techniques and exercises

You may like to incorporate many IPT techniques and exercises into your IPT sessions to benefit your clients. We have identified only a few resources that you as a mental health care professional, can use to support your clients through their sessions. There are some internal links to guides we have created here on Carepatron, so be sure to check them out as well!

Guided imagery

Through this technique, clients can relive an upsetting or difficult experience they may have had within their interpersonal relationships. Through guided imagery techniques, you can lead your client safely through past situations through a visualization process with some verbal cues. Individuals who undergo guided imagery for IPT can imagine how they might conduct themselves in a similar future situation. For example, guided imagery might be used to explore emotions within a specific situation with their relationships.

Drama techniques

Drama techniques can also be a great help to those who are undergoing IPT. Drama techniques are used in various psychotherapy sessions and can serve as a tool to support self-reflection. The interactive aspect of drama therapy can support individuals in enhancing their social skills. Consequently, this can help future social interactions and support solid and healthy relationships. An example of drama techniques working within IPT might be if an individual is having difficulty controlling their anger within relationships. By utilizing drama techniques, individuals with this issue can trail new behaviors in a safe environment and work towards integrating them into their relationships outside of the therapeutic environment.

Bodywork

Bodywork is a great resource for those who are not only undergoing IPT but also other kinds of psychotherapy. This technique can support clients by giving them an increased awareness of themselves. When an individual struggles with interpersonal relationships, there may often be situations where self-awareness is unattended. This could be talking over people, interrupting, and having inappropriate reactions to conversations and peers. Working through this difficulty through bodywork can support individuals in self-awareness. Bodywork may encompass breath exercises, breath regulation, and physical training.

Mindfulness & attention regulation

Mindfulness can be utilized in various psychotherapy sessions as well as in those who are undertaking IPT. Like bodywork, practicing mindfulness and attention regulation can support individuals in their quest to actively understand themselves. Importantly, resilience can be built through the practice of mindfulness. Resilience can be a really useful skill when it comes to building interpersonal relationships. This is because when individual is faced with a challenging experience within a relationship, they can use resilience to bounce back and maintain emotional balance during difficult times.

Grief letters

Grief Letters can be extremely beneficial for those who are undertaking IPT. One of the four major aspects of IPT focuses on grief. This exercise can help individuals who are living with the grief of the loss of someone in order to comprehend those thoughts and emotions. By utilizing grief and loss worksheets, clients can help them confront and process their loss. Grief letters also promote closure. This can support individuals to close a chapter as they wish as they move towards more effective communication within their relationships if grief is negatively impacting prior and future relationships with others.

Communication analysis

During communication analysis, the therapist will support the client within IPT by identifying their common communication styles. This can help therapists comprehend what might be happening within the client’s relationships and find techniques that can benefit their communication style and possibly reroute maladaptive styles. The great thing about analyzing communication styles within clients is that various IPT techniques can also be utilized within this section of IPT. Interactions like role-playing and drama techniques can help identify possible negative aspects of the client’s communication style.

When is it best to take Interpersonal Therapy?

There may be various circumstances when it is best to take IPT. Here are a few best times to utilize this type of therapy.

Life transitions

It may be useful to utilize IPT when major life transitions occur within an individual's life. Major life transitions could be events such as:

Marriage
Divorce
Career changes
Retirement
Pregnancy

Motivated individuals

Schimelpfening (2018) suggests that a good time to take IPT is when the individual is motivated to implement new changes and strategies to improve their interpersonal relationships. It may be difficult to create change if an individual cannot adequately take time to identify issues and roles they might need to change in their relationships with others.

Social isolation

Individuals who are living with aspects of social isolation might consider undergoing IPT. This therapy can support individuals in maintaining interpersonal skills that can benefit relationships with others.

Relationship problems

IPT is valuable for addressing issues that may be happening within interpersonal relationships. It can provide individuals with a framework for enhancing their behavior to appropriately interact with others to maintain and strengthen important relationships in their lives.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy worksheets

There are a variety of Interpersonal Psychotherapy worksheets that can be beneficial within therapy sessions. Therapists often use these exercises to lead with a patient-centered ideology within sessions. We at Carepatron also house a variety of useful resources that you may choose to include within your IPT sessions.

Mood thermometer worksheet

This is an effective way to track clients' moods when they aren’t with you. The mood thermometer acts as a visual guide that can support individuals in their identification of moods that are related to interpersonal events. This resource can be used for children who are undertaking IPT sessions. It is especially effective for children who cannot spot moods and potentially related events. The Mood Thermometer helps individuals to identify patterns when it comes to their emotions and interpersonal connections.

Interpersonal relationships worksheet

An Interpersonal Relationships Worksheet is another effective worksheet that can be explored during IPT sessions with clients. The interpersonal relationship worksheet can support individuals in discovering patterns within their interpersonal life and work towards changing behaviors and ideologies if needed. Most importantly, if clients have difficulties with their interpersonal relationships, they can use this Interpersonal Relationships Worksheet to identify new behaviors that can support them in the future.

Closeness circle worksheet

This worksheet helps individuals identify patterns of difficulty they may face when maintaining strong interpersonal relationships. The closeness circle therapy worksheet focuses on developing interpersonal skills by identifying the people they consider the closest to them and why they think they are the closest to them. The Closeness Circle Worksheet is great because it can be used with any age. Children are able to identify their close relationships.

Communication style worksheet

Another useful worksheet when providing IPT sessions is the communication style worksheet. These worksheets can help individuals to identify their personal communication styles. Their communication skills might be having a negative impact on their social interactions, which can lead them to not be able to maintain interpersonal relationships. This communication style worksheet can support clients to achieve their desired outcomes regarding their interpersonal relationships.

Boundaries exploration worksheet

A worksheet that is focused on healthy boundary creation can also support individuals in their quest to improve their interpersonal relationships. This boundaries exploration worksheet focuses on setting healthy boundaries for individuals to follow in order to empower self-care and wellness.

How can Carepatron help with Interpersonal Psychotherapy-related work?

Carepatron is the best software to complete all your Interpersonal Psychotherapy-related tasks. We offer many resources that can support you in providing the best therapy care for your clients. As a specialized Interpersonal Psychotherapy App, you can look forward to the benefits of working with Carepatron.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy software

As your dedicated Interpersonal Psychotherapy software, you can rely on our robust therapy resources to support your IPT-related work within sessions.

Therapy practice management software

Carepatron is the best software for making your practice work as best as possible. We house a range of administrative tasks that allow you to spend more time with your clients. You can say goodbye to the anxieties with payments, patient scheduling, and important notes you make during the sessions. With our medical billing system and patient appointment reminder software, you can get back to spending more time with clients and let us do all those pesky administrative tasks for you.

Therapy EHR

Carepatron is not only the best place to take care of those administrative tasks you may dread but also the place to securely store your important client notes that you record. You can rely on us to store your completed templates, resources, and client/patient notes in our safe system. You can also access this anytime, allowing for a great home and work-life dynamic.

Try out Carepatron today and see the difference for your practice!

References

Good Therapy. (2009, September 15). Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Goodtherapy.org. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/interpersonal-psychotherapy

Schimelpfening, N. (2018). Interpersonal therapy as a short-term treatment for depression. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/interpersonal-therapy-1067404

Commonly asked questions

The most effective IPT techniques to benefit clients are listed above in the techniques section. It is important to remember that because each client is different, these techniques must be adapted to each client and their situation.

Daily mood journals, communication skills, and interpersonal goal setting. It is important to choose exercises that benefit the client the most and ones they can practice in their routine. This will differ between clients.

Yes. There have been various studies that show the effectiveness of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for children.

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