Non-pharmacological therapeutic recommendations in bipolar affective disorder

Abstract

In bipolar affective disorder (BAD), the simple adminis­tra­tion of pharmacotherapy leads to relapses, residual symp­toms and psychosocial disorders. Therefore, specialists tried to use psychotherapy as adjuvant treatment in addition to pharmacotherapy. By definition, the maniac component of BAD doesn’t allow the patient to be aware of his own di­sease, and classical psychotherapy (psychoanalysis) didn’t prove to be effective. There hadn’t been any concrete in­for­mation in literature on the therapeutic options in BAD until recently, but in the last 20 years the researchers ha­ve run more and more clinical controlled randomized trials. In this context appeared the first evidence-based psy­cho­therapy methods(2). This article analysis the fol­lowing types of psychotherapy: psychoeducation, cognitiv be­havioral therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm the­rapy, respectively. These types of psychotherapy can be carried out either individually or with the patient and his familly, or even with a larger group of patients. Ge­nerally, the goals of psychotherapy in case of mental di­sorders are the improvement in quality of life, and fa­ci­li­ta­ting the treatment adherence, compliance to treat­ment and social integration. Although there are com­mon purposes of the aforementioned types of psy­cho­therapy, each one has its different approaches and sta­ges, which are to be described in this article(3).