Family Therapy May Delay Mood Episodes in Youth at High Risk of Bipolar Disorder

Family therapy focused on building communication and problem-solving skills may benefit youth at high risk of bipolar disorder, according to areport inJAMA Psychiatry. Specifically, the study found that youth with mood symptoms and a family history of bipolar disorder who participated in a four-month program with their parents (and, when possible, siblings) had longer periods between symptoms of depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed episodes (mood episodes) than those who participated in a program with less intensive family involvement.Previous studies show that youth at highest risk of progressing to bipolar disorder early in life are those with mood symptoms and with a family history of the disorder. Still, there is “little agreement on what treatments are most effective in preventing symptom progression among high-risk children,” wrote David J. Miklowitz, Ph.D., of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues.For the current study, Miklowitz and colleagues recruited 127 youth aged 9 to 17 years with major depressive disorder or unspecified (subthreshold) bipolar disorder, active mood symptoms, and at least one first- or second-degree relative with bipolar disorder I or II. The youth and their families were randomly assigned to one of two treatments over a four-month period: family-focused therapy or enhanced care. Youth and families assigned to family-focused therapy participated in 12 60-minute sessions of psychoedu...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: bipolar disorder communication David J. Miklowitz depression family therapy family-focused therapy JAMA Psychiatry manic episodes mood episodes mood symptoms problem solving youth Source Type: research