title: A pilot, exploratory report on dyadic interpersonal psychotherapy for perinatal depression.
abstract: Perinatal depression is a major public health burden impacting both mothers and their offspring. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the acceptability and feasibility of a novel psychotherapeutic intervention that integrates an evidence-based intervention for depression, interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), with postpartum dyadic psychotherapy focused on emotional development in the context of the mother-infant relationship. Nine women between 12 and 30 weeks gestation with Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) scores >12 were entered into treatment. Three out of nine women dropped out of the study after initiating treatment (one lost to follow-up antepartum; two lost to follow-up postpartum). Seven out of eight women (87 %) reported clinically significant improvements in EDS scores from baseline to 37-39 weeks gestation, and all women had clinically significant improvements at 12 months postpartum. A small randomized controlled trial is underway to further examine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8134, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA, lenzes@psychiatry.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Shannon N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lenze
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome