Functional Remediation for Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Bipolar Disorder focused on measuring functional remediation, psychoeducation, neurocognition
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Outpatients
- Diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I or II, according to DSM-IV-TR 4ª Ed criteria
- Adult patients, aged between 18 and 55 years old
- Euthymic (YMRS < 6, HDRS < 8) for at least three months prior to study entry.
- Signed inform consent
- Severe or moderate functional impairment (FAST > 18)
Exclusion Criteria:
- IQ < 85
- Neurological illness
- Present diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence according to DSM-IV criteria the last three months
- Significant medical illness considered as severe by the study that may interfere with assessments
- having been enrolled in any kind of cognitive rehabilitation intervention the last two years
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Active Comparator
Active Comparator
Functional remediation
Psychoeducation
Treatment as Usual
Patients assigned to the experimental treatment will receive standard psychiatric care and will be enrolled in the neurocognitive intervention program composed of 21 sessions of 90 minutes, each aimed at improving the following cognitive domains: attention, memory and executive functions and psychosocial functioning. The program will be performed in an 8-to-10 patient group conducted by 2 experienced neuropsychologists. with previous experience with bipolar patients (at least 3 years) and specific training on patients' group management.
The group psychoeducation is a tested (Colom et al, 2003) and manualized intervention (Vieta and Colom, 2006) consisting on 21 sessions of 90 minutes, aimed at improving 4 main issues: illness awareness, treatment adherence, early detection of prodromal symptoms and recurrences and lifestyle regularity. The program will be performed in an 8-10 patient group conducted by 2 experienced psychologists with previous experience with bipolar patients and specific training on patients' group management. The structure of each session consists of a 30 to 40 minute speech on the topic of the day, followed by an exercise related to the issue (eg. drawing a life chart, writing a list of potential triggering factors) and a discussion.
This arm will not receive any sort of add-on psychosocial intervention. All patients will keep on receiving standard psychiatric treatment.