Psychotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Psychotherapy, including details on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, methods, outcomes.

An integrative formulation-based cognitive treatment of bipolar disorders: application and illustration.

Mansell W

School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. warren.mansell@manchester.ac.uk

An integrative cognitive treatment for mood swings and bipolar disorders is summarized and then illustrated in a clinical case. In essence, it is proposed that multiple, extreme, and conflicting beliefs about changes in internal state, and the reciprocal impact of these beliefs on behavior, physiology, and the social environment, constitute the central mechanism that maintain and escalate bipolar symptoms. Using a case illustration with examples of therapy dialogue, several key aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy are explained, including the assessment of mood, beliefs, distressing imagery, and recurrent thinking; case formulation; therapeutic techniques; self-awareness; interpersonal factors during therapy; and systemic issues.

Published 12 April 2007 in J Clin Psychol, 63(5): 447-61.
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