Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) on Depression and Emotional Instability in Patients with Bipolar Disorder Type 1 treated with Medication

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and relapsing disorder for which various interventions have been introduced. Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) was developed to treat patients' stressful events, improve social and circadian rhythm disturbances, and increase treatment adherence. This quasi-experimental study, with pre-test, post-test, follow-up, and control group, aimed to investigate the effectiveness of IPSRT on depression and emotional instability in patients with bipolar disorder Type 1 treated with medication.
The statistical population included all male patients with bipolar disorder, type 1, who were referred to Azadi Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Tehran during 2020-21. Using a convenience sampling method, participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=12) and a control group (n=12). The experimental group received IPSRT in twelve 90-minute sessions, whereas the control group was on the waiting list. We used the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) and analyzed data using SPSS-27 software with the Mann–Whitney U test. The findings revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of depression and emotional instability in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. IPSRT had a positive effect on reducing depression and emotional instability (p<.05). The results of this study showed the efficacy of IPSRT on depression
and emotional instability in patients with bipolar type 1. Thus, this method can be used as an interventional and therapeutic method to reduce depression and emotional instability in bipolar type 1 patients.