New psychosocial treatments for the outpatient management of bipolar disorder.

The psychosocial treatment of bipolar disorder has the potential to augment the efficacy of outpatient pharmacotherapy if it succeeds in enhancing the protective effects of the social and familial environment and the patient's adherence to drug regimes. We describe two manual-based psychotherapies under evaluation in controlled clinical trials: a family-focused psychoeducational treatment and an individual, interpersonally-oriented psychotherapy. Both target recently ill patients and are delivered in combination with standard pharmacotherapies on an outpatient basis. Results from the ongoing clinical trials suggest high patient retention rates for both models over the first year of treatment. Future research should focus on the appropriate sequencing of pharmacologic and psychosocial treatments, and the conditions under which psychosocial treatment will be most effective.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes