IPT for Individual Therapy

Question 1

What is a corrective emotional experience?

Answer 1

Helping the Ct identify, work through, disconfirm, or change problematic interpersonal patterns or themes (focusing on actions and not words; experiential therapy)

In-vivo and experiential learning

Question 2

What is the process dimension?

Answer 2

Cts may “enact” or recreate the same types of interactions that bring them to therapy, this makes the here-and-now interaction between Therapist and Ct very important

Process > content

Question 3

What is client response specificity?

Answer 3

Therapist tailors responses to Ct

Flexible nature of interventions/communication

Importance of Accurate Empathy

Question 4

What are the 3 types of insecure attachment?

Answer 4

Dismissive, preoccupied, fearful

Question 5

What is dismissive attachment?

Answer 5

Person is low in overt/expressed attachment anxiety, high avoidance

Do not easily seek support when distressed

Question 6

What is preoccupied attachment?

Answer 6

High anxiety, low in avoidance

High anxiety about support seeking, they seek support when distressed but are anxious attachment figure will not sustain interest in them or remain sufficiently responsive

Question 7

What is fearful attachment?

Answer 7

High anxiety and high avoidance

Intensely conflicted approach-avoidance
They want relationships but because of abuse histories, approaching others is uncomfortable/frightening/triggering of past trauma or loss

Question 8

What are process comments?

Answer 8

meta-communication which addresses the interpersonal dynamics in the therapeutic relationship

Question 9

What are internal working models?

Answer 9

enduring mental representation of caregiver-child relationships (internalizations of attachment relationships)

Question 10

What is strain trauma?

Answer 10

repetitive family transactional patterns which shape long-standing symptoms and problems

Question 11

What are early maladaptive schemas?

Question 12

How does this theory describe a person’s distress?

Answer 12

1. Persistent misattunement and invalidation in the Ct’s family of origin, which can lead to inefficacy or disempowerment
2. There may be early maladaptive schemas (EMS) → stable and enduring themes that develop from ongoing patterns of parent-child interaction during childhood that are significantly dysfunctional, elaborated and extend on into adulthood
3. There may be insecure attachment styles (avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized)

Question 13

How does this theory describe health?

Answer 13

1. Ct works toward secure attachment
2. Ct works toward support new and empowering schemas

3.Ct is capable of self-observation, introspection

4.Ct feels empowered to make their own decisions, take on responsibility for change

5. Ct realizes they may be working with EMS, they recognize they can respond in new ways

Question 14

What is the working alliance?

Answer 14

Shared ownership of the change process facilitated through collaborative engagement between Ct & Therapist (most closely linked to 3 Rogerian conditions; strong predictor of treatment outcomes); attunement is key; identify recurrent patterns/themes

Question 15

What does a therapist provide in session?

Answer 15

Therapist provides a safe haven and secure base → affective containment

Safe haven - someone who can comfort while they are in distress

Secure base - someone who can support them to venture out, explore, and become independent

Question 16

What’s the goal of therapy using IPT?

Answer 16

1. identify the formative patterns and painful feelings that make up the client’s core conflict,
2. highlight the interpersonal coping strategy the client has learned to cope with these developmental and familial challenges,
3. clarify when and how the client’s interpersonal coping strategy is being expressed in current interactions with the therapist and others, and
4. begin changing this pattern first in the relationship with the therapist, and then with others in the client’s life.