Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Life Events Affect Mood, and Vice Versa.
 Following a stress- diathesis 
model, the IPT outlook recognizes that mood disorders do not occur in a 
vacuum, but rather in an interpersonal context. Upsetting events trigger upset 
moods, and bad moods tend to trigger even more bad events. Thus a severe life 
event may trigger a depressive episode in an individual vulnerable to depres-
sion. Once the person develops depressive symptoms, life tends to go badly: 
the individual sleeps poorly, awakens tired and disorganized, is concentrating 
poorly, can’t find her keys on leaving the house; misses the train; arrives at 
work late, and there has negative interactions with co- workers. These negative 
events compound the already depressed mood, contributing to a sense of help-
lessness, hopelessness, and futility. This in turn worsens her functioning, in a 
continuing negative spiral (see Figure 3.1).
IPT uses an understanding of this pattern to treat depression, working on 
both a “macro” and a “micro” level. The bigger picture is to help the patient 
link the onset or worsening of depressive symptoms to a life event. This link 
Event
Mood