[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/) › [Psychotherapies](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/therapy/) › Family, group and interpersonal therapy

# Family, group and interpersonal therapy

- Technique

Therapies that work through relationships: with the family, with a group of peers, or on the relationships and life changes linked to depression.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- IPT has four focus areas: grief, role disputes, role transitions and interpersonal deficits (isolation).
- IPT is evidence-based for depression, including perinatal and adolescent depression; it is usually about 12 to 16 weekly sessions.
- Family-based treatment for adolescent anorexia: parents take charge of refeeding, then hand control back to the adolescent, then address normal adolescent development.
- Parent management training (teaching consistent praise, rules and consequences) is well supported for conduct problems in children.
- Group therapy factors include universality (others share the problem), instillation of hope, altruism, cohesion and interpersonal learning.
- Family psychoeducation in schizophrenia lowers relapse by reducing high expressed emotion (criticism, hostility, over-involvement).

## What it is

Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is a time-limited treatment, developed for depression, that links mood to current relationships and focuses on grief, role disputes, role transitions or interpersonal deficits. Family therapy treats the family as a system in which each member influences the others; family-based treatment is the first-line therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa. Group therapy uses the group itself, its support and feedback, as a vehicle of change and is economical. Couples therapy addresses the relationship between partners.

## Key facts

- IPT does not interpret the past; it works on present relationships and practical communication.
- In family-based treatment the family is treated as a resource for recovery, not blamed as the cause of the illness.
- Systems ideas: boundaries, alliances, hierarchies and rules in the family; a symptom may keep a family balance in place.
- Mutual-help groups led by peers, such as twelve-step groups, are not psychotherapy but help many people with alcohol use disorder stay abstinent.
- Group therapy limits: discomfort speaking among strangers, conflicts between members and less control over confidentiality.

## Relationship-based therapies and where they are used

| Modality | Focus | Best-supported use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Interpersonal therapy (IPT)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-depressive-disorder/) | Grief, role disputes, role transitions, interpersonal deficits | Major depression |
| [Family-based treatment](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/anorexia-nervosa/) | Parents restore eating, then return control to the adolescent | Adolescent anorexia nervosa |
| [Parent management training](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/conduct-disorder-and-oppositional-defiant-disorder/) | Consistent positive reinforcement, clear rules and predictable consequences | Conduct and oppositional problems in children |
| [Family psychoeducation](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Information, problem-solving and lowering expressed emotion | Schizophrenia (relapse prevention) |
| [Group CBT](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/social-anxiety-disorder-and-specific-phobia/) | Shared skills practice and exposure in a group | Social anxiety and other anxiety disorders |
| [Mutual-help and group therapy](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/) | Peer support, shared experience, accountability | Alcohol and other substance use disorders |
| Couples therapy | Communication, conflict resolution and shared problem-solving | Relationship distress, depression in a partner |

## Clinical notes

- Joint couples sessions are generally avoided while there is ongoing intimate partner violence; safety assessment comes first and each partner is seen separately.
- In perinatal depression, IPT's focus on role transition fits the change to parenthood well.

## Memory aid

IPT's four doors to low mood: Grief, Role fights, Role changes and Loneliness.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What are the four problem areas of interpersonal therapy?

Grief, role disputes, role transitions and interpersonal deficits.

## Which psychotherapy is first line for an adolescent with anorexia nervosa?

Family-based treatment, in which parents temporarily take control of eating before gradually returning it.

## Why does family psychoeducation help in schizophrenia?

It reduces high expressed emotion in the family, which is linked to relapse.

## What does universality mean in group therapy?

Discovering that others share the same problem, which reduces shame and isolation.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/behavioral-science/family-group-and-interpersonal-therapy/)

## Connections

## Related 7

- [Psychotherapies: which one for what](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychotherapies-which-one-for-what/)
- [Cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive distortions](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-and-cognitive-distortions/)
- [Normal grief, prolonged grief and depression](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/normal-grief-prolonged-grief-and-depression/)
- [Adolescence: development and the HEADSSS interview](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/adolescence-development-and-the-headsss-interview/)
- [Life events and social support](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/life-events-and-social-support/)
- [Operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/operant-conditioning-reinforcement-and-punishment/)
- [Screening and brief intervention (SBIRT) and harm reduction](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/screening-and-brief-intervention-and-harm-reduction/)

## Related conditions 8

- [Anorexia nervosa](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/anorexia-nervosa/)
- [Major depressive disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-depressive-disorder/)
- [Conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/conduct-disorder-and-oppositional-defiant-disorder/)
- [Perinatal depression and postpartum psychosis](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/perinatal-depression-and-postpartum-psychosis/)
- [Bulimia nervosa](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/bulimia-nervosa/)
- [Schizophrenia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/)
- [Alcohol use disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/)
- [Prolonged grief disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/prolonged-grief-disorder/)

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Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Depression](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression) (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2024); [Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders) (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2024).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/family-group-and-interpersonal-therapy/