IntroductionInterpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a short-term psychotherapy developed by Myrna Weissman and Gerald Klerman in the 1980s. It focuses on interpersonal relationships in the client's life, rather than past or biological causes. Therapy is kept fairly structured by the clinician's use of a manual and is aimed at helping the client recover from the current episode of depression. Interpersonal psychotherapy has been used in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in research studies, with promising results. Although initially developed for use against depression, IPT has also been shown to be effective against other disorders, such as anxiety and eating disorders. Interpersonal psychotherapy continues to be researched, as well as modified for use with other client populations such as adolescents. Clinicians, especially those who work with mood disorders, should learn more about IPT and decide whether it is something they would like to incorporate into their practice. The Evolution of Interpersonal Psychosocial Therapy Interpersonal psychotherapy has its roots in the work of Harry Stack Sullivan, who was the first scholar to draw attention to the effect that connections between human beings can have on mental illness. Sullivan's ideas were developed in reaction to his disagreements over Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic view that human beings establish boundaries with each other instead of forming strong bonds (Evans, 1996). Dissatisfied with current therapies, In the 1930s Sullivan developed descriptive psychiatry which recognized the importance of social factors on an individual. Descriptive psychiatry did not have a specific structure and was therefore more of an ideology to be adopted towards treatment. Furthermore, IPT is... half of the paper... theory: II. Practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 10(1), 107–121.Sharfstein, S.S. (1998). Harry Stack Sullivan: Interpersonal theory and psychotherapy review. American Journal of Psychology, 155 (182). Weissman, M. M., Markowitz, J. C., & Klerman, G. L. (2000). A complete guide to interpersonal psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books. Weissman, M. M., & Markowitz, J. C. (2004). Interpersonal psychotherapy: principles and applications. World Psychiatry, 3(3), 136-139.Wilfley DE, MacKenzie RK, Welch RR, et al., editors. Group interpersonal psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books; 2000.Zlotnick C, Johnson SL, Miller IW, et al. Postpartum depression in women receiving public assistance: Pilot study of an interpersonal therapy-oriented group intervention. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2001;158:638–640.