The development of a brief psychodynamic protocol for depression: Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT)

Abstract

This paper outlines the development of a manualized, brief (16-session) psychodynamic intervention – Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) ¹ – for the treatment of depression. DIT is based on a distillation of the evidence-based brief psychoanalytic/psychodynamic treatments pooled together from manualized approaches that were reviewed as part of the competence framework for psychological therapies first commissioned by Skills for Health. DIT has now been selected as the brief psychodynamic protocol that will be provided nationally in the UK as part of the IAPT programme. This paper will first describe the methodology underpinning the competence framework followed by an overview of the model, its relevance to depression, and finally its strategies and techniques.

Keywords:

• depression
• brief psychodynamic therapy
• dynamic interpersonal therapy
• competences framework
• IAPT
• primary care

Notes

1. DIT is easily confused with Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) since both therapies are interpersonal in their focus. However, IPT is not a psychodynamic therapy and this is reflected in the competences required to deliver it (Lemma, Roth, & Pilling, 2008), which are quite different to the psychoanalytic competences required to deliver DIT.

2. The full list of competences can be accessed at www.ucl.ac.uk/CORE

3. For clarity and economy, the patient will be referred to as ‘he’.