PSYCHOTHERAPY OF DEPRESSION - IPT TRAINING COMPONENT

We were awarded a three year NIMH grant (July, 1980 - June 1983) to conduct the Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) training of therapists at three sites for the pilot phase of the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. We completed the didactic and supervised practicum phases of training, and the preliminary analysis of training phase data by May, 1983. In 1983, we were awarded a two year competitive renewal to conduct the quality control monitoring of IPT therapists work with patients in the main treatment phase of the study and to complete the validation study. The treatment phase of the study at the three sites was to be completed by June, 1984, allowing us one year to complete the validation study. However, due to slow patient flow at the three research sites, there has been a one year delay in the completion of the treatment phase of the study. Because of this delay, a complete data set of therapists' performance of IPT in the main treatment phase will not be available until June, 1985. We are requesting funds for one year to complete the predictor and validation study in the full data set as follows: a. investigate the relationships among trainers' and independent raters' evaluations of IPT therapists and selected patient assessments over time; b. evaluate the predictive validity of specific training and assessment procedures in terms of patient improvement and therapists' continued adherence to the IPT treatment model, subsequent to training; and c. evaluate the overall efficacy of the training and evaluation procedures utilized in the study.