2001 Conference

EDITED HIGHLIGHTS: A BRIEF INTERVENTION FOR POSTNATAL DEPRESSION

Philip Boyce1,2, Claire Lamplugh2 & Nicole Church3
1 Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Sydney
2 Department of Psychological Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Penrith, Australia
3 Department of Psychology, University of New England

Screening programmes aimed at identifying women suffering from postnatal depression are being widely introduced. The proposed outcome of this is that currently undetected cases of postnatal depression will be identified, thus placing increasing demands on health services to provide appropriate interventions for these women.

As part of a screening programme in the Wentworth Area, we have developed a brief intervention that can be administered to women identified as suffering from postnatal depression. The intervention is provided over three sessions and is aimed at reducing the time the women remain unwell.

An initial comprehensive, semi-structured assessment guides a structured formulation process and directs the tailored interventions. The formulation looks at vulnerabilities and specific stressors, already established through the literature, that play a significant role in the development and maintenance of postnatal depression.

Following the assessment the woman is provided with this formulation and education about postnatal depression. The two subsequent sessions target specific problem areas using a series of manualised, established strategies. These include, basic cognitive restructuring, pleasant event scheduling, problem solving, anxiety management

In this paper arguments will be proposed for the use of brief targeted interventions, details of the therapy will be described and pilot data presented.