Are there also non-pharmaceutical treatments for bipolar disorder?
Leibenluft: Some specific forms of psychotherapy have been used to help with bipolar disorder. They’re always used in addition to medication, not instead of. For example, psychoeducation, teaching people about their illness, so that they can identify early on when they’re getting into a mood state, and can take certain actions to head it off, either stabilizing their sleep/wake cycle, for example, or shifting around their medications. Also, certain kinds of family therapies have been used, again to help stabilize the situation, particularly when the patient is a young adult, or an adolescent. Joe: Are there some special concerns when it comes to diagnosing bipolar disorder in adolescents and children? Leibenluft: The issue that’s arisen is the question of whether bipolar disorder looks similar in children as it does in adults. Early on, I had mentioned that bipolar disorder in adults is characterized by episodes of mania and depression, and the question that has been raised is whether
