Psychoterapeutic approach in bipolar disorder

Abstract

Although pharmacological treatment is essential for treating bipolar disorder, less than half of all medication compliant patients are non-symptomatic during follow-up, which has led to developments of adjunctive psychosocial interventions. This paper examines the current evidence for effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Searches were undertaken through MedLine, PsychoINFO, Lilacs, and Cochrane Data Bank, up to the year 2004. Psychotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of bipolar disorders were searched in original and review articles. Various approaches are useful in the treatment of bipolar disorders. Psychoeducation and cognitive-behavioral therapies show the best available evidence and are the most studied techniques. Family interventions and interpersonal and social rhythm therapy show efficacy in particular treatment phases. Studies with psychodynamic psychotherapies showed methodological limitations. Although there are some current evidence for effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorders, there is still a need for further studies to confirm these data. There is also a need to develop treatments based on etiological models, and particular treatments for the different phases and types of the bipolar spectrum.