Counseling/Therapy

Significance of Counseling/Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
  As is a well known fact, the bipolar disorder is a type of manic depressive disorder, with lot of mood swings and depression alternating with the manic episodes. Being a psychiatric illness, it warrants psychotherapy in addition to the medications. The psychotherapy is also popularly known as counseling or therapy, and forms a very significant and crucial part of the treatment.

  Counseling/Therapy aims at communication with the bipolar individual, so that they find it easier to open up their pent up feelings, and are forthcoming in frank discussion of their mental symptoms and troubles. Contrary to prevalent notions, talk therapy is not just talk, or simple talking about the mental issues of the patient.

Rather it is a 2 point therapy as listed below:

• The first point dealing with passive listening to the patient’s symptoms, and
• The second most important point dealing with active suggestion of solutions and working towards them.

The suggestions and working towards the solutions, may involve many different activities as listed below:

• Tracking of the different  moods,
• Writing about the thoughts, as they appear.
• Participation in social activities that may have caused anxiety in the past.

  The solutions may be provided in the form of motivation to the patient to have a different perspective about incidents and people, and also suggestions to bring about a positive alteration in the mental outlook.

Benefits of counseling/therapy for the bipolar disease patients:

• Comprehension about their problem.
• To chalk out and also to reach the different phases in wellness.
• Conquering of fears.
• Strengthening of self-confidence.
• Proper management of stress.
• Clear understanding about the past traumatic experiences.
• Clear detachment of the actual personality from the mood swings caused by the sickness.
• Recognition of the various triggers that may aggravate the symptoms.
• Improvement in interaction with family and friends.
• Setting up a steady, trustworthy schedule in life.
• Expansion of a plan for surviving through crisis.
• Awareness of nuisances and solutions.
• Put a brake on disparaging habits like alcoholism, drug abuse, reckless spending or unhealthy sex.

Professionals qualified to provide counseling/ therapy:

• Psychiatrist (MD),
• Psychologist (PhD, PsyD, EdD, MS),
• Social worker (DSW, MSW, LCSW, LICSW, CCSW),
• Counselor (MA, MS, LMFT, LCPC), or
• Psychiatric nurse (APRN, PMHN).

Classifications of the counseling/ therapy:

• Inter personal therapy (IPT)
• Behavioral therapy. (CBT)

Interpersonal therapy (IPT) - highlights:

• Originally this therapy was developed to combat depression, but has now been modified to deal with bipolar disorder.
• As is self suggestive, the IPT deals with the ability of the patient to deal with others, and focuses on developing the ability for enhanced inert personal skills.
• IPT helps the patient to classify each of his mental reaction to every incident or person, based on the following 4 points:
• a) Grief over a loss,
• b) Conflicts with others,
• c) Changes in life status such as moving or changing jobs or
• d) Isolation/ lack of social skills.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) - highlights:

• CBT has 2 different parts, the cognitive part and the behavioral part. The cognitive part deals with the relation of thoughts to emotions. Whereas the behavioral part deals with the active alteration in the patient’s reactions to the challenging incidents.
• CBT involves activities like maintaining a journal, review of the notes or tapes of the talk therapy sessions, trying a new approach to old problems.