Early intervention for bipolar disorder: the role of psychological interventions

For the majority of people who develop bipolar disorder, its onset occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood, a crucial phase in our developmental trajectory. This paper will describe some of the significant challenges and opportunities relating to undertaking psychological interventions with a young bipolar population who are early in the course of the disorder. It will focus particularly on the challenges of engagement and development of insight, while recognising the considerable potential for positive outcomes with this group. The paper will also describe how early psychological intervention can be particularly valuable in terms of functional in addition to symptomatic recovery. Data will be presented from previous research conducted at the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre in Melbourne, Australia, with this underpinning the argument for the importance of developing phase and age specific psychological interventions for this population.