A randomized control trial study to assess the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy on symptom reduction and relapse prevention for depression among the depression patients

Abstract

Background: Depression is a serious illness; approximately 40%–60% of patients develop relapse, and this risk increases up to 90%. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is an effective method to minimize depressive symptoms and relapse. Objectives: This randomized control trial study is designed to assess the effectiveness of IPT on depression symptom reduction and relapse prevention. Materials and Methods: Three hundred depressed patients from a selected psychiatric hospital in UP, India, were recruited by a simple random sampling technique that randomly allocated 150 participants to the experimental group and 150 to the control group by tossing a coin. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, which has 17 items. On the 2nd day of the trial, the experimental group received IPT. It helped the participants recognize their emotions and urge themselves to express them, both of which had a direct positive impact on their sad mood. The IPT efficacy assessment was done at the end of the 4 weeks of the intervention, and the relapse prevention assessment was undertaken 4 months later. The control group was kept with the actual treatment modalities and psychoeducation sessions, and they were assessed in the same way as the experimental group. Results: Findings illustrated that the reduction of depressive symptoms with (t = 33.61) (P = 0.0000) and relapse prevention with (t = 2.7484) (P = 0.0067) are significant, respectively. Furthermore, symptom reduction and relapse prevention had an association with some demographical data at P < 0.05, 0.001. Conclusion: IPT is an effective intervention for reducing depressive symptoms and preventing relapse.

Keywords

• depression
• hamilton depression rating scale
• interpersonal psychotherapy
• relapse prevention
• symptom reduction