Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Case of Postpartum Depression
by Scott Stuart
What, exactly, is Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), and how is it applied across populations? Watch Scott Stuart, MD, present the core elements of this evidence-based method in a course of therapy with a woman dealing with postpartum depression.
Therapists wondering whether it’s possible to combine evidence-based, structured interventions with an empathic, even “heart-centered” stance will find their interest piqued by Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). If you’ve never heard of IPT, wonder what it comprises, or are curious about how it differs from relational methods, you’ll gain a detailed understanding from watching this video. Here, veteran clinician Scott Stuart, MD, takes you through the nuts and bolts of IPT, demonstrating its application to postpartum depression in a course of treatment with a young mother.

Here, Stuart presents the essentials of this empirically supported approach, including its three core principles, issues treated, general trajectory, and central interventions. Emphasizing the importance of the therapeutic alliance, IPT’s collaborative nature, and its attachment-theory origins, Stuart makes a strong case for IPT as a person-centered yet tangible method adaptable to individual therapists’ temperaments and cases.

In this case, you’ll watch Stuart work with a struggling mother who’s just had her second child and is experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression. She arrives at his office frustrated by a lack of support from her husband, feeling guilty for wanting time to herself, and questioning her choice to leave her career for full-time parenting. With useful commentary interspersed alongside corresponding sessions, Stuart guides his client (and the viewer) through supportive inquiry and activities.

You’ll learn how IPT incorporates the use of affect, communication analysis, problem solving, and more to help clients move through their difficulties. With humor, sincerity, and a firm command of the model, Stuart is trustworthy and easy to follow, and you’ll see his client change dramatically by their final session. You’ll also get a feel for termination using this method, with client feedback encouraged.

This video offers an accessible primer on a multifaceted therapeutic approach. For a straightforward yet deeply engaging resource on IPT, look no further than this refreshing video.
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You may have heard of IPT, as it is often cited in the research literature comparing its efficacy to CBT. But most clinicians have limited knowledge of what IPT looks like in actual practice. In this comprehensive instructional video, Scott Stuart, MD, demonstrates the core components of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Here, Stuart offers concise didactics and commentary alongside excerpts from a 12-session course of treatment. Highlighting IPT’s attachment-theory origins and collaborative features, he shows how therapists can use the model to build the working alliance and move treatment forward—while also adhering to the guidelines of this empirically supported approach.

This video illustrates Stuart’s work with a client experiencing postpartum depression, stresses IPT’s application to a wide range of clinical issues. You’ll watch Stuart establish rapport with a young mother needing relief from the constant stress of caring for a new baby (plus a toddler) without adequate understanding or support from her husband. Through the use of empathic, progressive interventions that focus on communication skills, Stuart helps her understand and accept her feelings, clarify her needs, and verbalize them in ways that are more likely to get a positive response from her husband.

You’ll get a clear overview of IPT’s clinical foundations, treatment goals, the role of empathy and transference (which, you may be surprised to discover, is a necessary component of the IPT model), useful, interactive interventions, and termination procedures. Stuart is easy to understand and relate to, and lectures match up with session excerpts in a progressive way. By the end of treatment, the mother is visibly brighter and reports significant improvements in her marriage and her own outlook.

If you’re looking for a primer on IPT, examples of work with postpartum depression, or resources for how to blend relational skills with evidence-based tools, this is the video for you.

By watching this video, you will:
  • Understand the three core principles of IPT, and its treatment targets.
  • Learn how IPT emphasizes the therapeutic relationship within evidence-based practice.
  • Discover manual-guided, collaborative interventions for working with postpartum depression.

Length of video: 1:50:03

English subtitles available

Individual ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-460-6

Individual ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-460-4

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-461-4

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-461-1

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