Introduction: Depressive disorder is considered one of the most common psychological disorders among students, which can affect various aspects of a person's life. Accordingly, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of short- term group interpersonal psychotherapy on depression, emotional expressiveness, social skills and quality of life of students. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial conducted from October 2014 to March 2015. The statistical population of consisted of students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The participants (n=24) were selected through convenience sampling from the students who referred to Ferdowsi University clinic with complaints of depression then divided into control and experimental groups randomly. In this study, 8 weekly sessions (90 minutes) of short-term group interpersonal psychotherapy were administered in the experimental group. The research instruments were quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL), emotional expressiveness questionnaire (EEQ), social skills inventory (SSI), Beck Depression Inventory-2 and demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) using SPSS version 19. Results: The scores of Beck Depression Inventory-2 significantly decreased in the experimental group compared to the control group (P=0.004). Also, scores for all indicators of emotional expressiveness (P=0.031), subscales of emotional expression, social expression, emotional sensitivity, emotional control and social control of the social skill questionnaire (P=0.047), and areas of psychological and social relationships, and quality of life significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group (P=0.023). Conclusion: It seems that short-term group interpersonal psychotherapy can be considered as an effective therapeutic approach in reducing symptoms of depression and improving quality of life, emotional expressiveness and social skills in depressed individuals.

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