Most literature on bipolar disorder refer to two main approaches to treatment: a biological apprach using medications and a psychosocial approach using therapy. Studies have shown that both approaches used in tandem offer the best success for long term managment of bipolar disorder.

(Note: Separating the two approaches is useful for analysis and discussion but in realtiy they are very intimately related. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that psychological factors influence biolgical factors and vice versa.)

Biological Approach to Bipolar Disorder Treatments

The biologcial approach maintains that bipolar disorder can be reduced to physical or chemical imbalances in the brain. As such, this apprach attempts to treat the disorder with medications in hope to correct the imbalances. (electoroconvulsive therapy or ECT and ligth therapy are other 'biological' approaches but are not very common and beyond the scope of this article)

Medications for bipolar treatment are usually a combination of a mood stabalizer and some other adjunct medication used to treat specific symptoms. The most common mood stablizer for bipolar treatment is lithium but carboamazepine, and more recently, valproic acid are also used. The adjunct medications used in addition to the mood stablizer depend on the patients symptoms. Antidepressent - imipramine (Tofanil), amitriptyiline (Elavil), fluoxetine (Prozac) - , antianxiety -lorazepam (Ativan), clonazepam (Rivotril)-, and anitpsychotic -clozapine (Cloril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidon (Risperdal)- drugs are the common additions to a patients bipolar medication treatment.

Therapy/ Psychosocial Approach to Bipolar disorder Treatments

The Psycosocial apprach to treatment includes therapy, and general wellness education.

The most common types of therapy for bipolar disroder today are cognitve behavior therapy (CBT), insight-oriented or psychodynamic therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. The details of each of these is beyond the scope of this article but I have added links to further infomation on each of these.

General princeples of wellness have been proven to help manage bipolar disorder. The princeples must be taken on as habits but this starts with effective education about how patients can behave in ways that promotes thier mental well being. Getting proper amounts of sleep and rest is major key towards treating bipolar disorder. Other fairly obvious wellness factors are regular exercise, no alchohal or drug abuse, and low stress levels). In addition to these lifestyle changes, patients are also taught to learn which symptoms predict the return of the illness and to learn to trust wanrings given by family and friends when the see signs of relapse.