Workshop 16


Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Bipolar Disorder – a relapse prevention approach

Dominic Lam, University of Hull, UK

 Dominic_Lam

Bipolar disorder is a serious illness with significant suicide risk and high social cost. Traditional treatment for bipolar disorder has been predominantly pharmaco-therapy.  Yet a significant proportion of classical bipolar patients continued to have relapses.  We have conducted a randomised controlled trial with over 100 bipolar patients comparing cognitive therapy and mood stabilisers (combined treatment) vs mood stabilisers.  The combined treatment proved to be superior to mood stabilisers alone (Lam et al. 2003, 2005).  Health economy data suggested the combined treatment was cost effective. Since the publication of our treatment manual (Lam, Jones, Hayward and Bright 1999), we have developed the treatment model further and have begun to explore it application to patients earlier on in their illness course.  These developments will be shared in the workshop.
 
Key Objectives:
1) To be familiar with the diagnosis, outcome and general treatment issues of bipolar disorder; 2) T o be able to adapt existing CBT techniques to work with bipolar patients;
3) To be able to describe new CBT techniques for bipolar illness;
4) To list and describe the vulnerability issues; 
5) To be familiar with the cognitive model for bipolar disorder.

Training Modalities: Didactic, videos to demonstrate technique, interactive discussion.

Professor Dominic Lam is a professor of clinical psychology at University of Hull.  His main research interests include psycho-social aspects of bipolar disorder.  He has also published a book and a randomised control trial on relapse prevention of bipolar disorder.  He is a fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Founding Fellow of the International Association for Cognitive Therapy.
 
References:  1) Lam D.H., Watkins E., Hayward P., Bight J., Wright, K., Kerr N., Parr-Davis, G., Sham P. (2003).  A randomised controlled study of cognitive therapy of relapse prevention for bipolar affective disorder – outcome of the first year.  Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 145-152.
2) Lam, D.H., Wright, K. and Sham, P. (2005). Sense of Hyper-positive Self and Response to Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar Disorder.  Psychological Medicine, 35, 69-77.
3)Lam D.H., McCrone P, Wright K and   Kerr N. (2005) Cost-effectiveness of Relapse Prevention Cognitive Therapy for Bipolar Disorder.  British Journal of Psychiatry, 186, 500-506.