ABSTRACT
Bipolar disorder is one of biological psychiatry’s greatest success stories. Pharmacotherapy is the first-line offense against episodes of mania and depression, as well as in maintaining long-term stability. Nonetheless, clinicians and researchers are increasingly recognizing the value of psychosocial interventions as adjunctive to pharmacotherapy. The past decade has seen a substantial increase in the number of randomized clinical trials of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, most of which find strong evidence for the efficacy of combined approaches. What kinds of psychosocial interventions are effective for bipolar disorder, for what domains of outcome, at what point in the patient’s illness, and over what period of time? This chapter reviews the literature on psychosocial interventions (with an emphasis on randomized clinical trials), draws conclusions about the area as a whole, and points to directions for future research.
