This review shows a beneficial effect of EWS in time to recurrence , percentage of people hospitalised and functioning in people with bipolar disorder .
BACKGROUND Recurrence rates for bipolar disorder are high despite effective treatments with mood stabiliser drugs .
Self-help treatments and psychological treatments that teach patients to recognise and manage early warning symptoms and signs ( EWS ) of impending manic or depressive episodes are popular with patients .
The main aim of such interventions is to intervene early and prevent bipolar episodes , thereby increasing the time to the next recurrence and preventing hospitalisation .
OBJECTIVES To compare the effectiveness of an EWS intervention plus treatment as usual ( TAU ) versus TAU ( involving and not involving a psychological therapy ) on time to manic , depressive and all bipolar episodes ( the primary outcome ) , hospitalisation , functioning , depressive and manic symptoms .
A randomized controlled study of cognitive therapy for relapse prevention for bipolar affective disorder: outcome of the first year.
BACKGROUND Despite the use of mood stabilizers , a significant proportion of patients with bipolar affective disorder experience frequent relapses . A pilot study of cognitive therapy ( CT ) specifically design ed to prevent relapses for bipolar affective disorder showed encouraging results when used in conjunction with mood stabilizers . This article reports the outcome of a r and omized controlled study of CT to help prevent relapses and promote social functioning . METHODS We r and omized 103 patients with bipolar 1 disorder according to the DSM-IV , who experienced frequent relapses despite the prescription of commonly used mood stabilizers , into a CT group or control group . Both the control and CT groups received mood stabilizers and regular psychiatric follow-up . In addition , the CT group received an average of 14 sessions of CT during the first 6 months and 2 booster sessions in the second 6 months . RESULTS During the 12-month period , the CT group had significantly fewer bipolar episodes , days in a bipolar episode , and number of admissions for this type of episode . The CT group also had significantly higher social functioning . During these 12 months , the CT group showed less mood symptoms on the monthly mood question naires . Furthermore , there was significantly less fluctuation in manic symptoms in the CT group . The CT group also coped better with manic prodromes at 12 months . CONCLUSION Our findings support the conclusion that CT specifically design ed for relapse prevention in bipolar affective disorder is a useful tool in conjunction with mood stabilizers
This review shows a beneficial effect of EWS in time to recurrence , percentage of people hospitalised and functioning in people with bipolar disorder .
BACKGROUND Recurrence rates for bipolar disorder are high despite effective treatments with mood stabiliser drugs .
Self-help treatments and psychological treatments that teach patients to recognise and manage early warning symptoms and signs ( EWS ) of impending manic or depressive episodes are popular with patients .
The main aim of such interventions is to intervene early and prevent bipolar episodes , thereby increasing the time to the next recurrence and preventing hospitalisation .
OBJECTIVES To compare the effectiveness of an EWS intervention plus treatment as usual ( TAU ) versus TAU ( involving and not involving a psychological therapy ) on time to manic , depressive and all bipolar episodes ( the primary outcome ) , hospitalisation , functioning , depressive and manic symptoms .