Avery Leigh Thomas, LCSW

Episodes may be a mixture of both manic and depressive symptoms. In such an episode, individuals with bipolar disorder may feel sad, empty, and hopeless but have a high level of energy at the same time. Sometimes, changes in mood are less dramatic. For example, individuals may feel happy and think everything is fine, but people around them may notice their mood changes. Episodes like this are called hypomania. If an individual is hypomanic and does not receive proper treatment, their condition will likely worsen.

Generally considered a lifetime illness, the disorder begins in the late teen or early adult years. Bipolar disorder has no known cause, but research has shown that it tends to run in families. To diagnose it, a psychiatrist carefully assesses an individual's moods and behavior patterns. They may also be asked to keep a daily record of their moods and other factors that can help with diagnosis and determining the right course of therapy. Counseling is a typical form of treatment, as is a group of medications that can control symptoms, called antipsychotics.

The use of therapy is extremely common, with millions of people going through therapy each year in the United States alone. It can be useful for patients who want to learn coping skills when they are facing difficult issues or need to heal from past trauma. Therapy can also be a support tool when patients are facing stressful periods in their life. Essentially, therapy is helpful any time life events require more mental or emotional resources than a patient currently has. Change is a major theme of therapy, offering a supportive environment for patients to make changes to their life or themselves so that past problems stop recurring in the future.

There are several different types of psychotherapy, with the most common being cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. This type of therapy focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, is a form of CBT that encourages acceptance and validation as well as change. Interpersonal therapy focuses on relationships and communication as a pathway to feeling better. Psychoanalysis, an older form of therapy invented by Sigmund Freud, teaches that all problems stem from the unconscious.

Although many people see therapists by themselves, not all psychotherapy is one-on-one. For example, in family therapy, the therapist treats a family as a unit. Patients can also participate in group therapy, where they meet as a group to work on issues.

Psychotherapy is a safe, powerful healing tool that can help patients lead happier and healthier lives. However, therapy is a joint effort between the patient and the therapist. Both need to work together in order for therapy to be effective.