Summary description: Group IPT is a short-term treatment for depression originally developed for use by mental health professionals. It has since been adapted for use by non-specialists and extended to treat other common mental conditions (anxiety, PTSD, etc) in high, middle, and low income countries. IPT addresses interpersonal difficulties and crises that trigger and maintain depression symptoms. By making the clients' aware of the impact of these difficulties on their mood and by enhancing their interpersonal and problem-solving skills with group support, Group IPT alleviates depression. Group IPT is structured around distinct phases and typically spans 8-16 group sessions.
Access to the intervention manual: Group IPT for Depression is available online with full open access and can get more information here.
Access to training: A generic training schedule and curriculum with participatory training exercises for Group IPT for Depression is available upon request from the WHO.
Contact for the WHO manual for Group IPT for Depression: Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO (mhgap-info@who.int), Dr Myrna Weissman at the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University (weissman@nyspi.columbia.edu), or Dr Helen Verdeli at Teachers College, Columbia University (verdeli@tc.columbia.edu).
Intended users/ Implementers: Trained and supervised non-specialist provider
Therapeutic strategies: Group IPT focuses on interpersonal triggers of depression including grief following the death of someone significant; disputes (open or hidden); life changes that impact personal relationships and social roles; and loneliness/social isolation. It encourages the members to mobilize social resources, mourn what was lost, and help each other generate options, and identify allies and supports to live more fulfilled lives.
Intervention format: Group can be delivered in-person and remotely. Its duration varies based on the specific adaptation, but it typically spans several weeks and is structured into four distinct phases: the pre-group, initial, middle, and termination phases.
Target population: IPT is intended for adults and adolescents who have symptoms of depression (including ante- and postpartum depression), anxiety, PTSD, and transdiagnostic distress.
Significant effects found on symptoms of: In RCTs Group IPT yielded significant decreases in depressive, anxiety and PTSD symptoms, and improvement in functioning among adults and adolescents. The positive effects of Group IPT have been shown to last for at least 6 months after therapy concludes.
Key innovative or differentiating features of this intervention: IPT is informed by attachment theory and life events research, emphasizes the emotional impact of separation and loss, as well as the restorative power of social support. At the same time, it offers the flexibility needed for cultural adaptations based on each community's specific expectations for social roles, as well as unique communication codes regarding intimacy and power. Finally, the group format provides a "social laboratory" where group members can help each other enrich their interpersonal and problem-solving skills and create a new supportive community which helps adaptation during adversity.
Different populations where the intervention has been used: Group IPT is used with men and women living in extreme poverty; affected by HIV/AIDS; internally displaced persons and refugees; and depressed and anxious adolescents.
The supervisors need to have fulfilled their attendance, knowledge, and competency requirements as providers.
Requirements / qualifications for trainers and supervisors: The supervisors need to have fulfilled their attendance, knowledge, and competency requirements as providers.
To be competent provider, a specialist or non-specialist need to have attended a training workshop conducted by a vetted IPT trainer, passed an IPT Knowledge Test with at least 80%, attendance weekly supervision sessions over 3 cases, and meeting the required cutoff (75%) of competency assessment by the third case. Group IPT supervisors are encouraged to have a background in mental health.
Examples of adaptations and different formats: Adaptations of Group IPT include for depressed persons living in extreme poverty, persons with HIV/AIDS, women victims of domestive violence, women with depression and/or PTSD, perinatal depression, internally displaced adolescents in Uganda, and depressed adolescents in Nepal in school-based settings.
Examples of implementation outside of RCT contexts: Group IPT can be implemented within health and social services, such as, in communities, in non-specialized health-care services, in specialized mental health services, and in independent services provided by organizations.
Information provided by Helen Verdeli on 2y November 2024. She is the lead author of Group IPT for Depression.