ABSTRACT
Children and adolescents with bipolar spectrum disorders experience extreme and chronic mood dysregulation, including irritability, rage episodes, excessive elation or sadness, distractibility, grandiosity, a decreased need for sleep, and poor judgment. In contrast to their adult counterparts, youth with bipolar disorder tend to exhibit longer episodes with rapid cycling and mixed mood states (i.e., depression and mania/hypomania together) (Leibenluft, Charney, Towbin, Bhangoo, & Pine, 2003). The chronic and severe symptoms of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) contribute to significant psychosocial impairment (Goldstein et al., 2009a). Specifically, youth with bipolar spectrum disorders demonstrate academic underperformance and disruptive school behavior, limited peer networks and poor social skills, and increased family stress (Geller et al., 2002). As such, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) methods for PBD have been developed as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy to address the complex constellation of symptoms and associated social, academic, and family difficulties.
