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NREPP SAMHSA'S National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
IMPORTANT LEGACY NOTICE: Legacy Programs have not been reviewed by the current National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). The programs in this database were reviewed only under the previous National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs system. This section is intended to be used for historical reference only. If you would like more information about a program listed here, please contact the program developer directly. The program developer of each Legacy Program listed here agreed to post program information on this site.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents (IPT-A)

Brief Program Description

IPT-A seeks to reduce depressive symptoms and improve interpersonal functioning in adolescents suffering from depression disorders, dysthymia, or adjustment disorders. IPT-A is a time-limited psychotherapy treatment program designed to help adolescents deal with depressive symptoms and relate them to one or more of four problems areas including grief, role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits.

In IPT-A, adolescents attend eight consecutive weekly sessions devoted to clarifying the nature of the patient's illness and interpersonal experience and gaining new skills in communication and problem solving. The final two to three sessions focus on termination during which the adolescent has the opportunity to experience a positive ending to a relationship and to highlight the interpersonal skills that have been mastered during the course of treatment.

The IPT-A serves adolescents (12 to 18 years old) and is suitable for implementation by community-based clinicians who work in urban school-based health clinics serving minority students. The school-based clinic model is delivered in 12 sessions over a 12- to 16-week period (e.g., eight consecutive 35-minute weekly sessions, followed by four sessions scheduled at any frequency during the next 8 weeks). Implementation requires reading the IPT-A manual, and therapists are required to attend two half-day didactic training sessions and receive ongoing clinical supervision.

Research comparing IPT-A participants with individuals who received treatment as usual in school-based clinics indicates that IPT-A participants had fewer clinician-reported depressive symptoms on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, demonstrated better overall functioning on the C-GAS at week 12, were rated as being less ill, and had greater symptom improvement on the Clinical Global Impressions Scale. At 12 weeks, IPT-A participants also had greater improvement in dating and overall social functioning and showed a trend for greater improvement in family functioning when compared with adolescents involved in treatment as usual.

Contact Information

For indepth information on this program, please use the contact listed below.

Program Developer

Laura Mufson, Ph.D.
New York State Psychiatric Institute
1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 24
New York, NY 10032
Phone: (212) 543-5561
Fax: (212) 543-6660
Email: mufsonL@childpsych.columbia.edu

In October 2004, this program was designated as a Promising Program under SAMHSA's previous National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs system.