Psychosocial Therapies + Medication Can Help Treat Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a crippling, chronic, severe mental disorder characterized by manic highs and crashing lows. During the high points, people with bipolar disorder may be almost euphoric—happy, full of energy and activity, sleep little or not at all for days on end, or engage in reckless behavior, have intense flashes of irritability, and have grandiose beliefs about themselves. They may also have racing, disorganized thoughts and speak almost too quickly to be understood. This manic episode is sometimes accompanied by hallucinations or delusions.
During depression episodes, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are similar to those of major depression. The person will often feel sad, tired, withdrawn, and have trouble concentrating, sleeping, and eating. They may experience thoughts of worthlessness, guilt, death, or suicide.
Mania is generally viewed as the defining feature of bipolar disorder, but most people with bipolar disorder experience depression more frequently than mania, and for much longer periods of time.
Typically, those who suffer from bipolar disorder are prescribed drugs such as lithium to help stabilize mood, and anticonvulsants such as valproic acid (Depakote), lamotrigine (Lamictal), and carbamazepine (Tegretol). These medications help smooth the peaks and valleys associated with the condition.
New Thinking. However, a recent meta-analysis of the literature shows that psychosocial therapies—performed as an adjunct to medication via caregiver intervention—can be of great help in reducing relapse rates. From a possible 176 studies, researchers focused on 41 suitable studies covering 3,119 patients.
Psychosocial therapies include psychoeducation—information given to families and the person affected that explains the illness and possible therapies, and which encourages the patient to continue to take the medication prescribed; cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to identify and change negative perceptions to positive ones on the part of the afflicted person, and family-focused therapy (FFT), among others.
Researchers found significant reductions in depressive and manic relapses for group psychological interventions, as well as with individual psychological interventions compared with treatment-as-usual (TAU).
Psychoeducation and CBT were found to significantly reduce mania symptoms compared with TAU and other treatments. Psychoeducation and CBT combined also significantly reduced risk of medication non-adherence compared with TAU, while psychoeducation alone also reduced risk compared with TAU. Researchers concluded that psychosocial therapies should be offered to family members of the afflicted person as well as patient caregivers.
Limitations. None of the psychosocial interventions had a significant impact on reducing depression symptoms. Researchers say these symptoms are the largest unmet need in the disorder, poorly addressed by existing medication and psychotherapy strategies. Approaches that target depression and emotion regulation are the “next treatment horizon,” according to researchers.
The post Psychosocial Therapies + Medication Can Help Treat Bipolar Disorder appeared first on University Health News.
Read Original Article: Psychosocial Therapies + Medication Can Help Treat Bipolar Disorder »
Powered by WPeMatico
