Introduction to the Special Section on Clinical High Risk for Mental Illness: Transdiagnostic Framework, Detection Strategies, Assessment, Treatment and Outcome

Historically, the idea of preventing severe mental disorders by intervening in their prodromal stages was first introduced by the psychoanalyst Harry Stack Sullivan. Sullivan (1994) claimed that schizophrenia was the result of maladaptive relationships and experiences, rather than hereditary or biological factors and, as such, could be prevented. (...)

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

This article discusses interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), a psychotherapeutic intervention developed by Gerald Klerman, Myrna Weissman, and colleagues in the 1970s as an outpatient treatment for major depression in adults. Based on the theories of Harry Stack Sullivan and Adolph Meyer, IPT is a manualized, time-limited intervention that addresses the underlying interpersonal antecedents and correlates of psychiatric illness. The goal of IPT as originally developed is to reduce depressive symptoms and improve interpersonal relationships. IPT has been widely tested in adults and adolescents and is an empirically supported treatment for major depression. IPT has been adapted for a variety of psychiatric illnesses and problems of living including perinatal depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. Current evidence detailed below supports the use of IPT across cultures, illnesses, and populations.