Conclusions  Electronic self-monitoring of mood in depression appears to be a valid measure of mood in contrast to self-monitoring of mood in mania .
Background Various paper-based mood charting instruments are used in the monitoring of symptoms in bipolar disorder .
During recent years an increasing number of electronic self-monitoring tools have been developed .
The objectives of this systematic review were 1 ) to evaluate the validity of electronic self-monitoring tools as a method of evaluating mood compared to clinical rating scales for depression and mania and 2 ) to investigate the effect of electronic self-monitoring tools on clinical ly relevant outcomes in bipolar disorder .
There are yet few studies on the effect of  electronic self-monitoring of mood  in bipolar disorder .
A randomized head to head trial of MoodSwings.net.au: an Internet based self-help program for bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND Adjunctive psychosocial interventions are efficacious in bipolar disorder , but their incorporation into routine management plans are often confounded by cost and access constraints . We report here a comparative evaluation of two online programs hosted on a single website ( www.moodswings.net.au ) . A basic version , called MoodSwings ( MS ) , contains psychoeducation material and asynchronous discussion boards ; and a more interactive program , MoodSwings Plus ( MS-Plus ) , combined the basic psychoeducation material and discussion boards with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy . These programs were evaluated in a head-to-head study design . METHOD Participants with Bipolar I or II disorder ( n=156 ) were r and omized to receive either MoodSwings or MoodSwings-Plus .  Outcomes included mood symptoms , the occurrence of relapse , functionality , Locus of Control , social support , quality of life and medication adherence . RESULTS Participants in both groups showed baseline to endpoint reductions in mood symptoms and improvements in functionality , quality of life and medication adherence . The MoodSwings-Plus group showed a greater number of within-group changes on symptoms and functioning in depression and mania , quality of life and social support , across both poles of the illness . MoodSwings-Plus was superior to MoodSwings in improvement on symptoms of mania scores at 12 months ( p=0.02 ) but not on the incidence of recurrence . LIMITATIONS The study did not have an attention control group and therefore could not demonstrate efficacy of the two active arms . There was notable ( 81 % ) attrition by 12 months from baseline . CONCLUSION This study suggests that both CBT and psychoeducation delivered online may have utility in the management of bipolar disorder . They are feasible , readily accepted , and associated with improvement
Conclusions  Electronic self-monitoring of mood in depression appears to be a valid measure of mood in contrast to self-monitoring of mood in mania .
Background Various paper-based mood charting instruments are used in the monitoring of symptoms in bipolar disorder .
During recent years an increasing number of electronic self-monitoring tools have been developed .
The objectives of this systematic review were 1 ) to evaluate the validity of electronic self-monitoring tools as a method of evaluating mood compared to clinical rating scales for depression and mania and 2 ) to investigate the effect of electronic self-monitoring tools on clinical ly relevant outcomes in bipolar disorder .
There are yet few studies on the effect of  electronic self-monitoring of mood  in bipolar disorder .