IPT — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ

Correct answer: A — Unconscious conflict

The correct answer is A. Standard IPT formulation selects a focus from four interpersonal problem areas: grief, role disputes, role transitions and interpersonal deficits. The therapist links the depressive episode to one or more of these current interpersonal difficulties and works collaboratively to improve the relevant relationships or social functioning. Unconscious conflict is instead principally associated with psychodynamic or psychoanalytic formulations, which explore intrapsychic conflicts and their origins. Grief concerns depression associated with bereavement or loss; role disputes involve conflicting expectations in an important relationship; role transitions concern difficulty adapting to changed social roles; and interpersonal deficits describe limited, impoverished or unsatisfactory relationships.

Reference: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Depression in adults: treatment and management, NG222 supporting full guideline, section 7.1.2.8, Interpersonal psychotherapy. 2018. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222/documents/full-guideline-updated