Cognitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder
Cognitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression is a mood disorder which is the result of neurological, emotional, biological and environmental factors. Typical symptoms include sudden and abnormal mood changes which swing between mania and depression. These mood swings can also be rapid cycling, shifting rapidly and out of the blue. Fortunately bipolar disorder responds very well to treatment. This treatment is a combination of medication and therapy. However there are many patients for whom medical treatment is not a viable option. This includes those who have a history of drug abuse and for whom medication could increase the risk of abuse. There are also some patients who may want to avoid medicines as long as possible. For such people, therapy is the next best option. Amongst the various therapies available, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy seems to be a popular therapy to use for bipolar disorder. Cognitive behaviour therapists for bipolar disorder use this therapy because it basically helps the patients in recognising triggers and causes for their sudden episodes of mania or depression. Cognitive behaviour therapists also help the patient in learning techniques to avoid these triggers or effectively manage the symptoms arising during an episode. Cognitive behaviour therapists for bipolar disorder set largely 2 goals for the patient in the course of therapy. The first goal is to recognise manic episodes before they get out of hand, and to consciously change their own reactions to the mood change. The second goal is to learn effective techniques, reactions, thoughts and behaviours to control or offset depression. To meet these goals, a cognitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder makes use of several activities and techniques. However with this therapy the patient is ultimately responsible as he is given homework which helps in understanding their condition and learn coping methods. When beginning the therapy, the first step the cognitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder follows is to develop a treatment plan along with the patient. This is basically a contract in which the patient promises to follow the treatment program, complete all homework set and regularly take prescribed medication. The second step is recognition of, monitoring ad grading moods. The cofnitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder does this with the use of worksheets which help the patient record their moods, their levels of anxiety or irritability, number of hours slept etc. The next step in CBT is for the patient to do homework which involves reading and understanding how thoughts affect their emotions. This will help the patient practice altering thoughts, thereby changing emotions which directly affect the manic and depressive episodes. Finally the cognitive behaviour therapist for bipolar disorder helps the patient recognize triggers which could be thoughts, emotions, situations, events, people etc which set off a mood episode. By identifying these triggers the person can learn to either avoid them or alter their thoughts towards them.