Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

What is PTSD?
 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a distressing psy-
chiatric illness, results from one or more extremely upsetting, traumatic 
events. The trauma might be, for example, an assault by another person, 
a natural disaster like a tornado, witnessing a death, or combat experi-
ence. PTSD is common, affecting 10% of American women and 5% of 
men. PTSD is a 
medical illness
 and 
not your fault
— no one wants to have 
it. Even though its symptoms can make you feel shattered and hopeless, 
it’s a 
treatable disorder,
 and you have a very good chance of getting better.
Not only have you already suffered a terrible trauma, but having PTSD 
means that the traumatic event continues to haunt your life. If the 
world once felt secure and predictable, it no longer does. PTSD tends 
to make the world seem a dangerous and uncertain place. PTSD can 
make it hard to trust your environment or anyone in it. You may 
become preoccupied with re- experiencing the trauma in thoughts, 
flashbacks, or dreams. You may find yourself avoiding things that 
remind you of the trauma. You may feel detached, cut off from people 
and your feelings, with less interest in the present and the sense that 
there’s not much of a future. You may feel constantly on alert, jumpy, 
and easily angered. PTSD can also interfere with sleep and ability to 
concentrate. “Adding insult to injury,” PTSD symptoms keep bother-
ing you long after the event has passed.
 B. 
Treating PTSD.
 There are several ways to treat PTSD. The approach 
we are offering you is called 
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
, a  
14- week talking therapy that has been well tested and has shown  
bene fits in treating major depression and other psychiatric conditions. 
 
 

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148  A P P E N D I X
IPT is a simple, powerful treatment that we think has a good chance of 
helping you recover from what you’ve been through. Initial treatment 
research suggests that it may work as well as other, exposure treatments 
without requiring you to face fearful memories of your past trauma.
 C.