The goal of our proposed project is to design and produce a video training program for psychotherapy practitioners and researcher wishing to employ the techniques and principles of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). IPT's efficacy for the treatment of major depression has been demonstrated in clinical trials. The treatment is recommended by the National Institute of Mental Health's Depression Awareness Recognition and Treatment Program. However, there is no widely disseminated training program for practitioners. Workshops are available occasionally but no training video exists. A training program for clinical investigators conducting efficacy trials has been developed but is not available outside specific funded trials.
The aim of Phase One is to adapt the training program for use by practitioners and to develop the program for videotape. We will accomplish this goal by working with the project consultant to write a demonstration video. We will test the effectiveness of the tape for training practitioners by conducting a test in which psychotherapists will be randomly assigned to read the training manual or to read the training manual and screen the videotape. We will videotape the psychotherapists in sessions with depressed patients to evaluate their IPT skills. This process will provide the basis for proceeding with Phase Two in which an entire series of IPT videotapes will be developed.
