Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Dysthymic Disorder

This manual focuses on the use of psychotherapy for dysthymic disorder, or chronic depression. It describes how to adapt interpersonal pyschotherapy (IPT) - a proven, time-limited therapy that has benefited patients who have other mood disorders and psychiatric syndromes - to treat dysthymic disorder. After discussing the characteristics of dysthymic disorder, the basic principles of interpersonal psychotherapy, and the available treatment data, the book offers strategies for working with this disorder. It also includes examples which illustrate how to use this treatment approach, and an appendix with patient education materials, the IPT Problem Area Rating Scale, and the IPT Outcome Scale.