IPT was developed in the early 1970's at Yale University by Gerald Klerman and Eugene Paykel, who were studying the efficacy of tricyclic antidepressants, alone or paired with psychotherapy, as a maintenance treatment for depression.   The efficacy of tricyclics had previously been demonstrated, though many patients relapsed after termination of acute treatment.   The treatment of choice for depression at that time was psychodynamic psychotherapy, but therapeutic efficacy was largely unproven-- most empirical studies involved behavioral treatments, and were limited in scope and sample size.   In an effort to address the shortcomings of previous research in both the areas of psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatment of depression, Klerman and Paykel sought to determine the most efficacious length of pharmacologic treatment, and whether psychotherapy had a role in the prevention of relapse.

When their maintenance study²⁶ demonstrated the efficacy of "high contact" counseling, the treatment was more fully developed and was subsequently renamed Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).   A 3-way comparison acute treatment trial using antidepressants and IPT was then conducted.   Efficacy results were positive, and the combination of medication and psychotherapy was found to be the most efficacious treatment for depression.   The positive results of the initial studies of IPT led to its inclusion in the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program,²⁷ which compared IPT to imipramine, placebo, and CBT for acute treatment of depression.   The original IPT manual, Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression,²⁸  was published in 1984 as a manual for this research project.

Since that time, numerous manuals for modifications of IPT have been written, including those for depressed adolescents, ²⁹ the elderly, ³⁰ perinatal women, ^1,31 and HIV+ patients. ³²   In 2000, Markowitz and Weissman published an updated IPT manual; ²⁹ another updated manual by the same authors was published in 2007.³³

Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide,¹ a manual directed specifically towards the clinical practice of IPT was published by Stuart and Robertson in 2003 and has been widely used in clinical and research settings.

A number of IPT manuals for specific disorders have been published.   These include:

Frank E. (2005). Treating Bipolar Disorder: A Clinician's Guide to Interpersonal and Social Rhythm
Therapy . New York: Guilford.

Hoffart, A., Abrahamsen, G., Bonsaksen, T., Borge, F.M., Ramstad, R., Lipsitz, J., & Markowitz, J.C. A Residential Interpersonal Treatment for Social Phobia. New York, Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Hinrichsen, G.A., & Clougherty, K.F. (2006). Interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed older adults . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Markowitz JC: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Dysthymic Disorder. Washington, D.C., American Psychiatric Press, 1998Markowitz JC (Editor): Interpersonal Psychotherapy . Review of Psychiatry series, Volume 17. Series Editors: Oldham JM, Riba MB. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, 1998

Mufson L, Dorta KP, Moreau D, Weissman MM (2004). Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents , second edition. New York: Guilford.

Pergami A, Grassi L, Markowitz JC: Il Trattamento Psicologico della Depressione nell'Infezione da HIV La Psicoterapia Interpersonale . Milan: Franco Angeli, 1999

Stuart S, Robertson M: Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide . London, Edward Arnold (Oxford University Press), 2003

Weissman MM, Markowitz JC, Klerman GL: Comprehensive Guide to Interpersonal Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books, 2000

Wilfley, DE, Mackenzie KR, Welch RR, Ayres VE, Weissman MM: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Group. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000