Depression can affect how you relate to other people, and difficulties in relationships can deepen depression. IPT offers a clear, time-limited way to understand how depression, relationships and important life events may be connected, then focus on the area that is most relevant in your life now.
16 weekly sessions50 minutes each1 agreed focusOnline, for adults
01
Why relationships are included
When mood and relationships begin affecting each other.
When you are depressed, it may become harder to speak, ask for help, tolerate conflict or stay connected. You may withdraw because contact feels exhausting, then feel more alone when other people stop reaching out. A loss, disagreement, change in role or lack of close relationships may also have contributed to the depression in the first place.
IPT pays attention to this two-way influence. It does not assume that relationships are the only cause of depression, blame you or the people around you, or reduce your experience to a label. It asks a practical question: what is happening between your mood, your circumstances and your relationships, and where could change become possible?
Low mood and loss of energy→Withdrawing or finding it harder to communicate→Less support or more misunderstanding→Feeling more alone, hopeless or self-critical
This is only one possible cycle. In therapy, we would work out what is true for you rather than fit you into a ready-made explanation.
02
A beginning, a working phase and an ending
Structured, without becoming mechanical.
IPT has a recognisable shape, but the conversation remains personal. The structure helps us decide what deserves attention and notice whether the work is helping; it is not a script that replaces listening.
Sessions 1–4
Making sense of what is happening
We begin with a timeline: a simple map of when the depression or other difficulties began or changed, set alongside important relationships and life events. Seeing these together can help us understand what was happening at the time and what may be connected now. We then consider how the depression is affecting daily life and any immediate concerns about safety. We look carefully at the important relationships and changes around you through an . Together, we develop a : a clear, provisional understanding of how the depression and a current interpersonal difficulty may be connected.
You do not need to tell your entire life story at once. Trust and understanding can develop gradually.
Sessions 5–13
Working on an agreed focus
We agree one main and practical goals. We use recent, specific situations to understand feelings, expectations and communication. We may slow down an important conversation, consider different ways of responding, prepare for a conversation, or use to try something safely before using it outside therapy.
The aim is not simply to discuss relationships. It is to help you make changes within them and build or use support more effectively.
Sessions 14–16
Ending deliberately
The ending is discussed before the final session. We review changes in your mood and relationships, what you contributed to those changes, what still feels difficult and how you may respond if depression begins to return.
Ending can bring feelings of loss, pride, anxiety or relief. IPT treats those feelings as meaningful rather than rushing past them. Any further or follow-up work would be considered separately.
03
The four IPT focus areas
One central difficulty, understood in depth.
More than one of these may feel familiar. IPT usually chooses one main focus so that the work has enough depth and direction. The choice is made together after assessment; it is not imposed from a checklist.
01Grief and bereavementWhen the death of someone important is closely connected with the depression.
The work allows space to mourn the person and understand the particular relationship that has been lost, including feelings that may be painful, mixed or difficult to express. It also considers how life, identity and relationships have changed since the death and how connection with others might gradually be rebuilt.
IPT does not treat ordinary grief as an illness. This focus is considered when bereavement and depression have become closely entwined and life has remained severely restricted.
02Conflict in an important relationshipWhen repeated disagreement, distance or an unresolved impasse is affecting mood.
We identify what each person appears to want, what is being communicated directly or indirectly, and where conversations repeatedly break down. We can explore whether the relationship may be repaired, renegotiated or, in some situations, accepted as ending.
The aim is not to decide who is right. It is to understand the pattern clearly enough for you to communicate, make decisions and protect your wellbeing with greater choice.
03A major life changeWhen depression is connected with a change in role, identity, circumstances or belonging.
Examples may include becoming a parent, retirement, illness, redundancy, migration, separation, caring responsibilities or another change that alters how you see yourself and how others relate to you.
We make room for what has been lost, including parts of an earlier identity, while examining the demands and possibilities of the new situation. The work can include developing skills, confidence, support and a more workable sense of the role you now occupy.
04Loneliness and recurring relationship difficultiesWhen isolation or longstanding difficulty forming and sustaining close relationships is central.
We look at important relationships across your life to notice recurring expectations and patterns without assuming that the difficulty is a defect in you. The relationship in therapy may sometimes help us notice, respectfully and in real time, what makes closeness, trust, disagreement or asking for support difficult.
Change may involve practising new ways of communicating, strengthening an existing relationship or taking gradual steps towards new connection.
04
Inside an ordinary session
Specific enough to be useful; open enough to be yours.
Notice
We check how your mood has been and what has happened since we last met.
Choose
We agree which recent interaction, feeling or difficulty would be most useful to examine.
Understand
We slow it down: what was said, what was felt, what you hoped for and what became difficult.
Try
We consider options and may rehearse a conversation or a different way of responding.
Carry forward
We identify what you want to notice, communicate or do before the next session.
I will be active and collaborative. I may ask detailed questions, draw attention to a feeling, help untangle a conversation or suggest that we test an idea. I will not give you a set of instructions for how to live, and I will not assume that my first understanding is correct.
Feedback is part of the work. If I have misunderstood you, the focus does not fit, or therapy is becoming unhelpful, I would want us to speak about it. You do not have to be completely convinced by every part of IPT before beginning; it needs to make enough sense for us to try it together and review honestly.
05
Relationships, safety and belonging
Where attachment fits and where it does not.
ideas help IPT understand why reliable connection matters, particularly when someone is frightened, grieving, unwell or facing change. Earlier relationships may be explored when they help explain what is happening now, for example, why asking for help feels dangerous or why separation carries particular meaning.
IPT is not an attachment-style test and does not place you into a fixed category. It does not assume that every present difficulty was caused in childhood. The main attention remains on current depression, current relationships and changes that could make everyday life more supported and manageable.
06
Reviewing the work
Progress is examined, not assumed.
Mood and symptoms
Brief questionnaires can help us track depression and other difficulties over time. They support the conversation; they do not replace it or decide what your experience means.
Relationships and daily life
We also look for changes that a symptom score may miss: speaking more directly, using support, tolerating conflict, feeling less isolated or responding differently to a difficult situation.
The therapy itself
We review whether the focus still fits and whether the way we are working is helping. If progress is limited, we think together about why and whether a different approach or additional support is needed.
07
Deciding carefully
Could IPT be right for me?
IPT may be worth considering when…
depression is the main difficulty you want help with;
a loss, conflict, life change, loneliness or recurring relationship difficulty feels connected with your mood;
you would value a focused therapy with a clear time frame;
you are willing to look at recent interactions and try changes between sessions, at a manageable pace.
Another form of help may be more suitable when…
Your needs fall outside what brief, individual online therapy can safely provide, for example, if you need urgent or crisis support, hospital-based care, medically supervised withdrawal, or a specialist service. Some people may need another therapy, medication, or coordinated care alongside psychological treatment.
Suitability is considered in an assessment rather than decided from a list. If IPT is not the right fit, I will be open about that and help you consider an appropriate next step where I can.
About the evidence: IPT was developed as a treatment for depression, and this is where its evidence is strongest. It is recommended in UK guidance as one of the psychological treatments that may be offered for depression. Adapted forms are used with some other difficulties and groups, but the evidence and the way treatment is delivered are not identical in every situation. IPT can also be provided alongside prescribed antidepressant medication when appropriate.
IPT at TalkWise
A clear frame, with room for a human conversation.
I offer individual IPT online for adults as a course of 16 weekly, 50-minute sessions. We would first meet for an assessment so that you can ask questions, I can understand what you are seeking help with, and we can consider whether IPT is suitable.
This page is an accessible description, not a replacement for individual assessment or a treatment manual. It has been checked against the IPT practitioner guide and service-user leaflet supplied for this page, alongside current guidance and professional descriptions.
A free 15-minute introductory conversation gives you an opportunity to ask questions and get a sense of whether we may work well together. You do not need to commit to therapy before we speak.
