Overcoming Bipolar Disorder: A Comprehensive Workbook for Managing Your Symptoms and Achieving Your Life Goals - Softcover

Bauer M

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1572245646 ISBN 13: 9781572245648

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications, 2009

Synopsis

A doctor may understand the symptoms of bipolar disorder and your close friends and relatives may know your manic and depressive phases inside and out, but only you have experienced your bipolar disorder firsthand. This workbook will help you learn how to recognize your mania and depression triggers, develop coping skills for managing symptoms, form more productive partnerships with your healthcare providers, and keep your life in balance as you work toward your goals.

The authors' Life Goals Program has already helped hundreds of people with bipolar disorder understand how bipolar works and take charge of their lives. Overcoming Bipolar Disorder makes Life Goals Program techniques available to the public for the first time, giving you the tools you need to create an action plan for symptom management designed specifically for you. You'll also discover how simple changes to your eating, exercise, and sleeping habits can improve your mood and keep symptoms at bay.

Overcoming Bipolar Disorder is about more than just medication. New research shows that learning specific skills to manage bipolar disorder can significantly reduce symptoms and help to maintain long-term balance…. It should be an important resource for people living with bipolar disorder and for concerned family members.-Gregory Simon, MD, MPH, psychiatrist and researcher at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, WA

About this title

About the Author

Mark S. Bauer, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard South Shore Psychiatry Residency Training Program. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and his medical degree and psychiatry residency training from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an internationally recognized educator, researcher, and clinician, with particular expertise in bipolar disorder.

Amy M. Kilbourne, PhD, MPH, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a double major in molecular biology and rhetoric. She has both a master's degree in public health with a concentration in epidemiology and a doctoral degree in health services from the University of California, Los Angeles. Kilbourne's research is focused on improving outcomes in individuals with mood disorders through integrated general medical and mental health care strategies, and translating effective treatment models for mood disorders into community-based settings.

Devra E. Greenwald, MPH, received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College and her master's degree in public health from Yale University. She conducts research in mental health at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Evette J. Ludman, PhD, received her bachelor's degree from Brown University and her doctorate from the University of Oregon. She is a clinical psychologist and researcher at Group Health Cooperative, where she motivates people to make positive life changes, from quitting smoking to overcoming depression.

Linda McBride, MSN, received her master's degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island. She has lectured internationally and is a recognized educator, researcher, and clinician with expertise in bipolar disorder, patient education, and collaborative treatment for people seeking mental health care. She is affiliated with the Graduate Program in the College of Nursing at the University of Rhode Island. She was awarded the Administrator's Excellence in Nursing by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Synopsis

This is the first trade book to present the authors' research-proven method for helping bipolar people gain control of their disorder. The Life Goals Program (LGP) was developed by two of the authors, Mark Bauer and Linda McBride, and has undergone two clinical trials, with more ongoing. The LGP was designed to help the bipolar patient take charge of their disorder, rather than waiting passively for a health practitioner to stumble on the right treatment and tell the patient how to deal with the disorder. It includes a strong educational component, encouraging the bipolar person to both learn about the disorder as well as explore their experiences with bipolar, including beliefs, first onset, triggers, cycles, feelings of stigma, effects of the disorder on social and spiritual aspects of life, and effective coping methods.Rather than creating a dichotomy where the bipolar person is the passive patient and the health care provider (the author) is the expert, the LGP encourages the bipolar person to become an expert on his or her disorder, and to take action in discovering what works and doesn't work in controlling the symptoms and coping with the effects of bipolar.

Edition details

• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1572245646
• ISBN 13: 9781572245648
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272