Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents [Hardcover]

Laura Mufson Phd (Author), Donna Moreau (Author), Myrna M. Weissman Phd (Author), Gerald L. Klerman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898626862 | ISBN-13: 978-0898626865 | Publication Date: May 21, 1993

Depression is always a serious disorder. It is especially troubling when it affects adolescents: It can impair a teenager's ability to function at school, with family members, and with friends during the life stage when establishing and maintaining relationships are of paramount importance. Adolescent depression can result in lifelong emotional, social, and interpersonal difficulties or even suicidal behavior. While the management of depression is often a major component in the practice of mental health treatments with adolescents, until now no treatment method has focused primarily on interpersonal relationships.

Breaking new ground in the literature on the subject, this volume is the first to present a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents (IPT-A). Proven effective in managing adult depression, IPT was recently modified into a time-limited (12-week-long) program designed for younger outpatients experiencing nonpsychotic, nonbipolar depression. To improve the patient's overall social networks, the IPT-A program involves the affected teenager as well as his or her parents. The treatment focuses on the problem areas of grief, interpersonal role disputes, role transitions, interpersonal deficits, and on single-parent families.

The volume reviews the epidemiology, assessment, and diagnosis of depression in children and adolescents, and then guides the reader through each phase of treatment. Strategies, goals, and implementation methods are covered for each individual session; clinical vignettes and therapist scripts throughout offer clear illustrations of the techniques discussed. Final chapters cover the special issues clinicians are confronted with when working with adolescent patients, including refusal to go to school, sexual activity, aggressive behavior, sexual abuse, and life in a non-nuclear family. Also discussed are day-to-day clinical issues such as how to handle missed appointments and parental interference.

With depression rates soaring among younger members of the population, this text could not be more timely. The practical, effective treatment program detailed in this volume will be invaluable to all mental health professionals who work with adolescents. It is also an important addition to courses on adolescent psychiatry, psychology, and social work.

(20060201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This volume is more than a simple how to do it' book, although it does that with great clarity. It is comprehensive and therefore likely to be useful to professionals with very different levels of training and experience....[It] addresses both scholarly and practical issues related to a very promising treatment of a common disorder. I strongly recommend it to all clinicians who treat adolescents with depression." --From the Foreword by David Shaffer, MD

"Depression is common among adolescents and especially difficult to diagnose, manage, and treat. This book provides a well-planned and practical approach that will be useful for clinicians of diverse orientations. The special strength of the book is its focus on the relationship aspects of adolescent depression. This volume shows how relationships--often a source of great difficulty for depressed adolescents--can be turned into great opportunities." --Allen Frances, MD

"Psychotherapy with adolescents has often been deemed impossible at most, frustrating at best. In a brilliant new book, the authors of INTERPERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR DEPRESSED ADOLESCENTS provide a solution to the problem. A brief psychotherapeutic intervention for adolescents that works, IPT-A is grounded in Bowlby's attachment paradigm that anxiety and depression are part of the human condition and may become pathological states when significant losses or changes in relationships occur. It is a well-established treatment modality for adults which, unlike most psychotherapies, has been subject to as much scientific scrutiny as any drug trial. IPT-A is specifically tailored to the adolescent developmental tasks of separation, transition, and identity formation and is especially well suited for the population of adolescents who are bereaved, depressed, or experiencing interpersonal problems. A lucidly-written manual of operations describes the time-limited treatment (12 weeks) with the goals of improving the adolescents' self-esteem, clarification of the current problems including specific symptoms, and identification of effective techniques. Families are always included and other modalities, i.e., pharmacotherapy may be used in conjunction with IPT-A. Ample illustrative case vignettes are provided. I recommend INTERPERSONAL PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR DEPRESSED ADOLESCENTS to mental health professionals who work with adolescents as an important enhancement to their clinical armamentarium." --Clarice Kestenbaum, MD, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University

"Moreover, I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is involved with treatment of adolescent patients, regardless of his or her approach." --Karger

(20061001)

"IPT is a therapeutic approach that is highly amenable to [a] social worker''s ecosystemic and family orientation. For social work practitioners and educators seeking an EST for their practice, or for training Master''s level Social Work students, IPT is a good entree to a highly rigorous Evidence Based Practice....[A] strong resource for clinicians and educators....Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents...offers a good starting point for social workers in increasing their use of ESTs."--Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
 

 

(Daniel Coleman Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal )

"In addition to providing a revised manual that incorporates evidence-based practices and many very helpful clinical examples, the authors provide a concise but excellent general overview of other current treatment practices for depressed adolescents....I found this book to be well-organized and easy (actually fun) to read. I found the clinical examples and tips to be useful in general terms for working with adults as well as adolescents, especially in community settings....The brief, focal nature of the therapy is very adaptable for work with adolescents in community settings."--Community Mental Health Journal

(Paulette Marie Gillig Community Mental Health Journal )

About the Author

Laura Mufson, Ph.D., a child and adolescent clinical psychologist, is Director of Training in Child Psychology and Assistant Clinical Director of the Children's Anxiety and Depression Clinic at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Babies Hospital. She also is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and a Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Donna Moreau, M.D., a child psychiatrist, is Director of the Children's Anxiety and Depression Clinic at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Babies Hospital. She is an Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry and Director of Medical Student Education in Child Psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Chief of the Department in Clinical-Genetic Epidemiology at New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is coauthor (with Gerald L. Klerman) of Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression.

Gerald L. Klerman, M.D., at the time of his death in April 1992, was Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Chairman for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at Cornell University Medical Center, and attending on the staff of the Payne Whitney Clinic and Westchester Division of The New York Hospital. He was formerly the George Harrington Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and was Head of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration in Washington, DC in the late 1970s.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press (May 21, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898626862
• ISBN-13: 978-0898626865
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,659,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good resource., June 5, 2008

By 

Alida D. Novarese (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents, Second Edition (Hardcover)

This book is helpful for any practitioner working with adolescents who struggle with depression. Beginners can learn how to structure their therapy sessions, and advanced practitioners who have less experience with adolescents can learn to adapt their existing style to a new patient population. Easy to read and understand, written by one of the top authorities in Interpersonal Theory.