CT in Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (Bipolar Disorder)

Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar Depression: A Pilot Study

Ari E Zaretsky, MD, Zindel V Segal, PhD, Michael Gemar, PhD

Objective: While the efficacy of cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of acute unipolar major depression is well-documented, there is almost no data evaluating its utility in the treatment of bipolar depression. This pilot study compares the efficacy of CBT combined with mood-stabilizer pharmacotherapy for bipolar depression and CBT alone for unipolar depression.

Method: A matched-case control design was used to evaluate outcomes following 20 sessions of CBT in 11 depressed bipolar patients and 11 matched recurrent unipolar depressed control subjects.

Results: Bipolar depressed patients achieved similar levels of reduction in depressive symptoms following CBT, as did the unipolar depressed group. However, on measures of more pervasive dysfunctional attitudes, bipolar patients did not improve to the same degree.

Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that CBT warrants further investigation as an effective psychosocial intervention for depression in bipolar patients already receiving ongoing mood-stabilizing pharmacotherapy.

Can J Psychiatry 1999;44:491–494

http://cpa.medical.org/pubs/journal/zaretsky.htm

Replies:

CT for Relapse Prevention in Bipolar Disorder, by Jim Pretzer, 08/27/00

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