What’s the Best Therapy for Bipolar Disorder?

Extreme emotional highs and lows may make living with bipolar disorder a challenge. These experiences present differently for each person, but these mood swings may affect different parts of your life, like your relationships or career. 

However, the right treatment plan can help manage the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Below, we’ll explore the different types of bipolar disorder and treatment options. 

Understanding the types of bipolar disorder 

There are two categories of bipolar disorder recognized in the DSM V: bipolar I and bipolar II disorder. Each type manifests differently, which affects the type of treatment that may be most effective.

While only a certified professional can diagnose bipolar types, recognizing the typical presentation of each can be a great place to start seeking appropriate treatment. 

Bipolar I disorder 

If you have this type of bipolar disorder, you may experience manic episodes that last for a week or more. Or you might have severe manic symptoms that require immediate care. 

Manic symptoms might include feeling elated, extremely irritable, or jumpy. Other symptoms might include insomnia, racing thoughts, talking fast, or having an excessive appetite for drinking or other pleasurable activities. 

You may also experience episodes of depression that last for a couple of weeks or more with bipolar I disorder. Or you might have depressive episodes with both manic and depressive symptoms. 

Symptoms of depression might include feeling hopeless, getting too much sleep, talking slowly, or having trouble concentrating. Other symptoms might include a lack of interest in activities or having trouble doing even simple tasks. 

Bipolar II disorder 

With bipolar II disorder, you might have a pattern of hypomanic episodes (less severe manic periods) and depressive episodes. Although hypomania isn’t as extreme, depressive episodes might last longer. 

Why tailored therapy is so important for bipolar disorder 

Each person’s experience with bipolar disorder is unique. Life events, genetics, and personal triggers may all play a role in how bipolar disorder presents — for example, a past trauma or stressful living situation could affect your episodes and symptoms. 

A personalized treatment plan takes your specific symptoms and circumstances into consideration. With the right therapeutic approach, you can learn to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. 

Because bipolar disorder is cyclical, it’s important for treatment to be flexible. This means the therapeutic approach can adapt to your current phase — whether you’re experiencing a manic, hypomanic, or depressive episode. Tailored, flexible treatment plans may also change over time as your needs evolve, providing you with the personalized care you need.

At SonderMind, we make it easy to find a therapist to help manage your bipolar symptoms and episodes. Our individualized approach ensures you can connect with a therapist who meets your unique needs and preferences. 

Learn more about how SonderMind makes therapy more accessible. 

Common treatment and therapy solutions for bipolar disorder 

Getting the right treatment for bipolar disorder can make a big difference in your life. However, seeking treatment may feel intimidating at first, and it’s natural to have concerns. For example, you may worry about the potential side effects of taking medication. You might worry about the stigma associated with therapy — or being able to find the right therapist. 

Know that these are common concerns, and they’re completely understandable. Finding a treatment plan that works for you may take time: You might need to try different treatments, including multiple therapeutic approaches (or even multiple therapists). 

Let’s walk through a few of the most common treatment solutions for bipolar disorder. 

Medication management 

Using medication as a part of your bipolar treatment plan can help reduce the severity of your symptoms and episodes. 

Mood stabilizers, like lithium, are often used for managing hypomanic or manic episodes. Antipsychotics are sometimes used along with mood stabilizers — or alone if other medications haven’t been effective. Antidepressants are commonly used to help manage depressive symptoms. However, since they may trigger manic episodes, they’re usually taken with antipsychotics or mood-stabilizing medications. 

Working closely with a psychiatric provider, such as those at SonderMind, can help determine if medication is right for you.

Psychotherapy 

During psychotherapy (or “talk therapy”), you discuss your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may present challenges in your daily life. Your therapist works with you to identify these thought patterns and helps you develop more positive coping mechanisms. 

There are several different types of psychotherapy, including:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on identifying and challenging maladaptive or unhelpful thought patterns. With your therapist’s support, you learn to recognize and restructure those unhelpful patterns. For example, you might overgeneralize and feel like things will never get better during a depressive episode. CBT strives to help you recognize those thoughts, challenge them, and turn them into more adaptive ones. 

Your therapist may also use CBT approaches to help you develop coping skills for managing mood swings, such as mindfulness meditation or creative outlets like music or art to help you stay calm and reduce stress during these episodes. 

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

DBT focuses on emotion regulation and strongly emphasizes acceptance and change. This type of therapy also emphasizes building interpersonal effectiveness or improving how you interact with others and your relationships. 

DBT aims to help you handle emotional highs and lows during bipolar episodes. Instead of allowing intense emotions to overwhelm you, DBT helps you learn to accept them and make adaptive changes through distress tolerance and emotion regulation.

Family-focused therapy (FFT)

Families play an important role in supporting loved ones with bipolar disorder. Your family members can provide encouragement and support and ensure your safety during episodes of mania or depression. 

Family-focused therapy makes families a key part of treatment. This approach emphasizes psychoeducation about bipolar disorder and awareness of early warning signs to watch for. 

FFT may also help you and your family members improve your communication. It also helps build trust between you and your family members so you can depend on them for support when you need it most.  

Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (ISRT)

Routines go a long way toward helping you manage manic and depressive episodes. However, establishing these routines on your own is sometimes easier said than done. ISRT (or IPSRT) focuses on helping you build effective daily routines and learn how to manage stress. For example, you might work on building better sleep/wake habits or more consistent meal times. 

ISRT helps you recognize triggers that may affect episodes and symptoms of bipolar disorder. For example, improving your sleep might help reduce how often you experience manic or depressive episodes or their severity. This type of therapy also focuses on improving your interpersonal skills and relationships, helping you learn how to build healthy relationships with others. 

Psychoeducation and family therapy 

Understanding bipolar disorder is the key to managing it as effectively as possible. This includes knowing its possible causes, signs and symptoms, and treatment options. Family therapy that includes group psychoeducation helps ensure that you and your family members have this important information. 

This type of therapy may also help address and resolve conflicts related to bipolar disorder. It also reinforces a supportive environment that helps you manage episodes and symptoms.  

Lifestyle modifications 

What you eat, how you sleep, and how much physical activity you get may affect how bipolar symptoms present. Research shows that getting regular sleep and exercise and eating a balanced diet help manage bipolar disorder. Similarly, poor lifestyle habits, including substance use, may make it harder to manage bipolar symptoms effectively — and may even make mood swings more extreme. 

Being able to manage stress is an important part of managing bipolar disorder. Stress management techniques, like meditation or deep breathing, may help you handle stress more adaptively.

Support groups or community support 

Support groups give you a way to connect with others who live with bipolar disorder. You may learn more about their challenges and how they handle them. You may also share your own experiences with the group in order to help or inspire others. 

Having community support can be a powerful source of encouragement and understanding. Instead of feeling alone, you can turn to others for support when you’re struggling or want to talk about what you’re going through.

Complementary therapy 

Some therapeutic approaches are considered complementary therapies: They’re not used as a main treatment for bipolar disorder but may be included in a comprehensive treatment plan: 

• Art therapy: Using various media to create works of art as a means of expression
• Music therapy: Singing, songwriting, listening to music to evoke certain emotions, playing instruments 
• Mindfulness: Focusing attention to the present using activities like meditation and breathing techniques 

Connect with a SonderMind therapist 

Bipolar disorder may present challenges in your daily life, but with support from a therapist, you can learn to better manage your symptoms to improve your communication, mood, and relationships. 

SonderMind can connect you with a professional to help you find the right treatment plan and best therapy option based on your specific symptoms and needs. 

Start your journey toward better mental wellness with SonderMind.