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Enhancing Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Mothers and Expectant Mothers on Low Incomes: Adaptations and Additions

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Abstract

Intervening with depressed women during their childbearing years, especially with those on low incomes, is critically important. Not only do mothers and expectant mothers suffer unnecessarily, but their untreated depression has critical negative consequences for their families. Despite this, these women have proven especially difficult to engage in psychotherapy. In this paper we describe several adaptations and additions we have made to a brief form of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) to meet the needs of mothers and expectant mothers living on low incomes in the community who suffer from depression, but face significant practical, psychological, and cultural barriers to engaging in and staying in treatment. In addition, we present some preliminary data on the extent to which our enhanced, brief IPT approach promotes improvements in treatment engagement and retention relative to usual care for expectant mothers on low incomes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health: 67595, 64518, and 30915 and from funds received from the NIH/NCRR/GCRC Grant MO1–RR000056.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Nancy K. Grote

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Holly A. Swartz & Allan Zuckoff

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  1. Nancy K. Grote
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  2. Holly A. Swartz
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  3. Allan Zuckoff
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Correspondence to Nancy K. Grote.

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Grote, N.K., Swartz, H.A. & Zuckoff, A. Enhancing Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Mothers and Expectant Mothers on Low Incomes: Adaptations and Additions. J Contemp Psychother 38, 23–33 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-007-9065-x

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