None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This is a randomised controlled trial of a Bipolar Disorder Clinic in which one group of patients will receive usual care (usually general practice follow-up) and the other group will participate in a Bipolar Disorder Clinic that focuses on a combination of psychotherapy and medication management. The intervention focuses on promoting self-management skills such as medication use, early warning signs, lifestyle patterns, and triggers. The primary aim is to decrease the patients’ mood episodes and the secondary aim is to reduce service utilization and thus be more cost effective than usual care. The trial addresses a current gap in mental health care for bipolar disorder by examining the clinical effectiveness of a long-term model of care delivery that takes a patient-centred approach. It is envisaged that this pragmatic, multi-disciplinary study will enable patients with bipolar disorder to have more skills and confidence in managing their disorder.
Interventions
Participation in a Bipolar Disorder Clinic involving Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy and medication management over an 18 month period. The intervention will be delivered to individuals initially on a weekly basis, followed by fortnightly and then monthly. Apart from the initial 12 weekly sessions the frequency of sessions is determined by participant's needs. The psychotherapy sessions will be delivered by experienced psychotherapists (nurses and social workers) and are of 60 minutes du
Participation in a Bipolar Disorder Clinic involving Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy and medication management over an 18 month period. The intervention will be delivered to individuals initially on a weekly basis, followed by fortnightly and then monthly. Apart from the initial 12 weekly sessions the frequency of sessions is determined by participant's needs. The psychotherapy sessions will be delivered by experienced psychotherapists (nurses and social workers) and are of 60 minutes duration. The medication management involves regular two-monthly sessions with a psychiatrist and additional sessions as required.
Sponsors
University of Otago, Christchurch
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder discharged from specialty mental health services.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria will be the primary diagnosis of a serious mental disorder such as schizophrenia or severe alcohol and drug dependence
Outcome results
None listed