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Addressing inter-party disputes through lessons learnt in interpersonal psychotherapy

On 4 and 5 December 2009 I attended an Interpersonal Psychotherapy Course led by Scott Stuart, M.D. Scott is Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Iowa Health Care. He is also Director of Iowa Depression and Clinical Research Centre.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy has been found to work very effectively in dealing with depression. It does this by mending and expanding supportive and meaningful relationships. This proven approach to treatment provides valuable insights for resolving conflicts between related but conflicting parties.

Interpersonal or inter-party disputes may be addressed using a two-phased approach. The approach involves firstly listening and then secondly taking direct action.

The Listening Phase

Begin by listening to the parties involved to identify the interpersonal problem that will be addressed.  Once the problem is agreed to, explore and clarify perceptions and expectations that the parties have. On the basis of clear problem analysis, steps are taken to brainstorm for alternative solutions.

The parties involved may have different views of the goals for resolving the interpersonal dispute. A useful means of exploring this is to ask each party about the importance of the relationship and the level of the dispute. Both parties may, for example, view the relationship as very important and the level of the dispute low. If jointly viewed in this way then there is strong motivation to address the dispute to maintain the relationship. Alternatively, the parties may have divergent views.

There may be a sense of loss or grief for a party that views the relationship of high importance. If a party to the dispute does not view the relationship as of high importance then there is unlikely to be a sense of loss or grief for that party. In this way, different parties to the same dispute may carry very different feelings.

Similarly, the parties to the dispute may consider the level of dispute differently. Parties' perceptions may be visually plotted on a two dimensional graph, with the vertical axis measuring importance of the dispute and the horizontal axis the level of dispute.

Sharing views about how the relationship and level of the dispute is perceived helps to explore what actions to take.

Establishing Goals and Taking Action

By parties sharing their perceptions a view will emerge as to the stage of the dispute that is to be resolved.

If the relationship is mutually viewed as worth saving then the stage of the dispute is one of re-negotiation. Alternatively the relationship may be viewed as one of impasse or, worst case, dissolution.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy aims in its goal setting and action taking to develop and re-build relationships by encouraging for individual parties to a dispute:

  • Behaviour change
  • Modification of communication patterns
  • Reassessment of the expectations in a relationship
  • Communicating interpersonal/attachment needs more directly
  • Learning not to repeat the same mistake

Because the emphasis in this therapy is on re-building relationships, strategies have been developed to address interpersonal disputes. These include:

  • Examining parallels in other relationships
  • Role playing
  • Conjoint sessions
  • Encouraging and modeling direct communication

Potential Outcomes

If the relationship is ended then there are issues of grief or loss to deal with for parties to whom the relationship is important.

A more positive outcome is to maintain the relationship while successfully modifying expectations and increasing social support.

An ideal outcome is to maintain the relationship, improve communication and develop gracefulness in communication.

Further Information

There is a considerable amount of information available regarding Interpersonal Psychotherapy.

For a summary paper from the Black Dog Institute see: www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/IPTsummary.pdf

For information from The Interpersonal Psychotherapy Institute with which Scott Stuart is associated, see: www.uihealthcare.com/IPT

For information from The International Society for Interpersonal Psychotherapy see: www.interpersonalpsychotherapy.org/

For information from The Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, see: www.bluepages.anu.edu.au/treatments/what_works/psychological_treatments/ipt

Mark England
Acting Convenor, Dispute Resolution and Psychology Interest Group

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