Early Integrated Intervention in Severe Affective Disorders

Bipolar Disorder, Depressive Disorder

Prophylactic treatment, Pharmacological treatment, Psychological treatment

The purpose of this study is to determine whether early integrated prophylactic combined medical and psychological outpatient treatment is associated with a better prognosis in patients with severe unipolar and bipolar affective disorders than standard treatment.

Patients who have been hospitalised for unipolar or bipolar disorder have a poor prognosis with highly increased risk of recurrence of episodes and increased risk of psychosocial dysfunction. It seems as integrated prophylactic combined medical and psychological out-patient treatment may lead to a better long-term prognosis in patients with affective disorders in general. It has not been specifically investigated whether such integrated treatment may improve long-term outcome if the intervention is offered early in the course of the affective illness. Subjects: Patients currently discharged from first, second or third hospitalisation ever from psychiatric department with a diagnosis of severe single depressive episode/recurrent depression or with a diagnosis of manic/mixed episode or bipolar disorder. Comparison: Early intervention with integrated prophylactic combined medical and psychological outpatient treatment as offered by a clinic for affective disorders compared with standard outpatient treatment as offered by community psychiatric centres, private specialists in psychiatry or general practitioners.

Denmark