Interpersonal psychotherapy in Israel

This chapter explores interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in Israel, which was introduced at Ben Gurion University by Professor Josh Lipshitz, who developed IPT for anxiety disorders and initiated the Israeli IPT group. Israel is a multicultural nation to which many have immigrated from a multitude of countries within an exceptionally brief period. Additionally, Israeli society includes many ethnic and religious groups and is anchored in ancient traditions yet poised at the apex of cutting-edge technology. Therefore, Israel presents a unique opportunity to study and present how the IPT framework enables patients and clinicians to overcome various cultural and religious differences. The chapter then presents IPT in the Israeli education system and an adaptation of interpersonal counseling (IPC) for college students. It also focuses on an IPT-based intervention for children and adolescents with specific learning disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), before discussing IPT as part of the national suicide prevention program and highlighting an adaptation of IPC for dieticians in Israel. Finally, it considers IPT for perinatal women and presents 2 case examples illustrating some typical Israeli-oriented difficulties.