Bipolar II Disorder Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment (cont.)

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Talk therapy (psychotherapy) is an important part of helping individuals with bipolar II disorder achieve the highest level of functioning possible. While medications can be quite helpful in alleviating and preventing overt symptoms, they do not address the many complex social and psychological issues that can play a major role in how the person with this disease functions at work, home, and in his or her relationships. Psychotherapies that have been found to be effective in treating bipolar disorders include family focused therapy, psycho-education, cognitive therapy, and interpersonal therapy. Family focused therapy involves education of family members about the disorder and how to help (psycho-education), communication-enhancement training, and teaching family members problem-solving skills training. Psycho-education involves teaching the person with bipolar II disorder and their family members about the symptoms of this illness, as well as warning signs (for example, a change in sleep pattern or appetite, increased irritability) that the person is beginning to experience a mood episode. In cognitive behavioral therapy, the mental-health professional works to help the person with bipolar II disorder identify, challenge, and decrease negative thinking and otherwise dysfunctional belief systems. The goal of interpersonal therapy tends to be identifying and managing problems the sufferers of bipolar disorder may have in their relationships with others.

In addition to whether the individual has medical or other mental illness, appropriate treatment or socioeconomic disadvantages, the prognosis of bipolar II disorder is largely connected to how often mood episodes occur. The lower the number of mood-disorder episodes, the better the prognosis for the individual.

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