Continuing CURB takes effort and strength. Congratulations on reaching the
next step!
In the last few modules we focused on some ideas from Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT), where you learned to analyze your thought patterns, to
identify negative thoughts, and to use counter-thoughts to think positively
and improve your mood. Now you can learn about Interpersonal Therapy (IPT),
which takes some of the focus off of you personally and instead works on
communication skills and how to build happy, successful relationships.
IPT points out that our social support-the empathy (ability to take the
other person's point of view), caring, communication, and closeness that we
share with people who are important to us-plays an important role in our
mental and emotional health. According to IPT, if we can learn to
communicate our thoughts and feelings better, we can improve on the
problems we have with other people.
Getting along with other people is an important step in reaching adulthood.
When we're children, our families have been assigned to give us love,
affection, and protection. Later we enter communities, moving from our
biological families out into the world to build different families. Forming
strong relationships in your personal and work life is the most important
part of becoming an adult.