The efficacy of short-term individual interpersonal psychotherapy in augmentation with pharmacotherapy in major depressive disorder

Background The high prevalence rates and persistently increasing burden of depression indicate that there are still many unmet needs in the management of depression. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is one of the main evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for depression. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of short-term individual IPT in combination with pharmacotherapy, compared with pharmacotherapy alone, in the treatment of depression and assess its role in improving social functioning. Setting and design This study was conducted in Mansoura University hospitals and was an interventional randomized controlled trial. Patients and methods A total of 40 patients were recruited and randomized into either the interventional group or the control group. The interventional group received IPT in combination with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. IPT was in the form of once weekly session for 12 weeks. Patients in the control group received treatment with an selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with appointments once every 2 weeks. Patients from both groups were assessed by the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Social Adjustment Scale Self-Report at the beginning and after 12 weeks. Statistical analysis IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results There were highly statistically significant improvements in depressive symptoms and in social functioning between the baseline assessments and after 12 weeks on the used scales in both groups. There was a trend for better improvement in the interventional group (IPT+pharmacotherapy) in depressive symptoms and in overall and specific domains of social functioning when compared with the control group. The interventional group showed statistically significant better improvements in social functioning when compared with the control group. Conclusions Combined IPT and pharmacotherapy shows clear benefits over pharmacotherapy alone, in both alleviating depressive symptoms and improvement of social functioning.