Author Archives: JmaC

1. Q. What was the goal of the STEP-BD depression psychosocial treatment trial and how did it fit into STEP-BD? A. The study reported in the April 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry describes the results of a … Continue reading →

This article exemplifies the AAFP 2000 Annual Clinical Focus on mental health. Bipolar disorder most commonly is diagnosed in persons between 18 and 24 years of age. The clinical presentations of this disorder are broad and include mania, hypomania and … Continue reading →

Antipsychotic medicines are sometimes used together with mood stabilisers to help treat an episode of high mood (mania). They are used as an initial treatment to help control the symptoms while the mood stabiliser begins to work. Antipsychotic medicines can … Continue reading →

Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder: The Controversies Updated 11/2014 1. Do antidepressants even work in bipolar depression? 2. Can antidepressants trigger manic symptoms? 3. Are antidepressants “mood de-stabilizers” ?      (3b: Kindling and Long-term Worsening) 4. If you’re on an … Continue reading →

It’s one of the most missed diagnoses in psychiatry. Bipolar disorder, involving moods that swing between the highs of mania and the lows of depression, is typically confused with everything from unipolar depression to schizophrenia to substance abuse, to borderline … Continue reading →