Which therapy is characterized by focusing on improving interpersonal functioning and relationships?

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This therapy centers on improving how a person relates to others and their relationships. Interpersonal Therapy is a structured, time-limited approach that targets current interpersonal functioning as the main route to reducing symptoms. Therapists help identify problems in relationships—such as conflicts with significant others, role transitions, unresolved grief, or interpersonal deficits—and teach concrete communication and problem-solving skills to improve these dynamics and expand social support. As relationships and social functioning improve, distress tends to lessen. Other approaches focus on different targets—uncovering unconscious processes from the past, changing thoughts and behaviors more broadly, or emphasizing personal growth—without this primary emphasis on relational patterns.