Treating Postnatal Depression with Interpersonal Psychotherapy

It has been estimated that at least one in five mothers of full-term infants suffers from Postnatal depression, or PND, with one to four women per thousand giving birth suffering from post-partum psychosis, resulting in an inability to distinguish right from wrong. Filicide, defined as the killing of a child by its parent, is the extreme tragic result of PND disorder. There are many other manifestations as well, often lasting the lifetime of individuals subjected to their mother's depression, but there is hope. Interpersonal Psychotherapy, or IPT, has shown efficacy when utilised to treat women with peri-natal (either antenatal or postnatal) depression, often comorbid with anxiety. How to utilise IPT as a treatment for PND is the subject of this course. Unless you are very well-versed in IPT, we recommend that you do the course, “The Basics of Interpersonal Therapy”, first. Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to: Define postnatal depression and describe the symptoms of it; Explain why dealing with a new mother's depression is so critical for the well being of the mother, the child,and the whole family; Show why IPT is often the therapy of choice for women with PND; List the risk factors for PND; Cite the results of at least four studies showing the efficacy of IPT with PND; Describe the work that an IPT therapist would best do at the assessment, initial, middle, and final phases of a course of IPT for PND.