Bipolar disorder or manic depression is a serious mental disorder which is attracting increasing interest. This book is a treatment manual of cognitive-behavioural therapy for bipolar disorder. The authors have a special interest in psychological treatment of bipolar disorder and have treated manic depressive patients on a routine clinical basis, as well as carried out a randomized controlled pilot study of cognitive therapy for bipolar disorder. The main features of this book include detailed descriptions of the techniques and issues in working with this client group. Some of the techniques were adapted from traditional cognitive therapy for emotional disorders, while others were specifically developed for bipolar disorder. This book also includes clinical examples, given as case studies, developed from the authors' pilot study.
Psychotherapists are increasingly involved in the treatment of disorders for which, in the past, drug treatments have been the main form of therapy. Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is one of these diagnoses, where in future a combination of cognitive therapy and medication may provide a better outcome for some patients than drug therapy alone. The authors of this book are pioneers of this approach and it is hoped that their methods and experience will be of value to many therapists and clinicians, and to their clients. The first part of their book deals with the current understanding of bipolar disorder and how this relates to the principles of cognitive therapy. The authors provide a review of conventional approaches to treatment, and these fundamentals about bipolar disorder, its treatment and the process of cognitive therapy provide a basis for effective assessment and selection of patients for cognitive therapy. The remainder of the book describes their methods in detail, with many clinical examples and case vignettes, and full consideration of the context of treatment, including both interpersonal and service delivery issues. The authors also deal with the wider family and social context of this problem and its treatment, ensuring that this book provides a wide-ranging and up-to-date professional text on bipolar disorder as well as a practical guide to a new and hopeful approach to therapy for these patients.
"Dominic Lam and his colleagues have produced a comprehensive and coherent guide to the theory and practice of cognitive therapy for bipolar disorders. This excellent book combines an up-to-date review of the literature on psychosocial aspects of bipolar disorders with clearly written descriptions of the clinical interventions that particularly benefit this group of patients." Professor Jan Scott, Head of Dept. of Psychiatry, Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland
"A cognitive approach to manic depressive disorders which has been shown to be effective. In conjunction with his colleagues Lam has produced this book which clearly describes strategies for coping with these disorders, and is liberally illustrated with clinical examples to make this promising new approach accessible to clinicians." Professor Julian Leff, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK This book appears in The Wiley Series in Clinical Psychology
