Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

What IPT doesn’t do.
 Some therapies for PTSD ask patients to re-
member and relive their traumas in detail. This can be effective treat-
ment, but it’s not easy. 
IPT does not ask you to relive the painful trauma
 
or traumas you’ve been through over and over. Instead, your treat-
ment will focus on how you can feel better and function in the present, 
not letting past trauma keep you from having a healthy present and 
future. We want you to help regain a realistic sense of trust in your-
self and in your interactions with the people and situations you face 
in daily life.Your IPT therapist also won’t assign you homework to do 
week to week. Your therapist will encourage you to explore different 
ways of handling situations, though. The goal of treatment is to help 
you regain health, to relieve you of symptoms, and to restore a sense of 
control over what’s going on in your life.
 G.