This fact sheet discusses the application of interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) in individuals with mood disorders and the positive impacts it can achieve. IPSRT can help reduce the number of socially based stressors experienced by those with mood disorders, improve their sleep habits by creating and sustaining healthy sleep cycles, and teach them skills and habits to decrease the risk of future affective episodes. This resource is of value to psychiatrists, therapists, and psychotherapists who want to treat individual patients with mood disorders that have trouble sleeping.
IPSRT is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help individuals establish healthy rhythms in their life, contributing to stabilized mood and improved cognition. IPSRT has four stages of treatment that seek to increase the independence of the client. The initial phase is focused on taking inventory of behaviors that disrupt sleep or cause affective episodes. Doing so establishes a rationale for treatment. The intermediate phase focuses on reorganizing social rhythms, and the maintenance phase builds upon this by reinforcing new social rhythms and building confidence in learned techniques. A successful maintenance phase leads to reduced frequency of visits for eventual termination. These stages are meant for individual settings but have been adapted for group settings.
For more information, please see the presentation The Intersections of Chronic Pain, Serious Mental Illness, and Trauma on Sleep.
This resource was first shared in 2018.
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