his was a short term intervention and the results pertain to only 3 – 6 months post treatment followupsBasco, M. R. & Rush, A. J. (1996). Cognitive-Behavior therapy for bipolar disorder: An overview. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for bipolar disease. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Key points: The chapter began with a description of the disease process of this mental illness as being chronic and recurrent. It then went on to extensively discuss research results concerning CBT, the goals of CBT, how CBT interventions work and how therapists can apply these interventions in their treatment plans. An analysis of the evidence of the efficacy of CBT: The chapter also cited the 1984 Cochran research study to prove that CBT may improve treatment adherence in bipolar disorder. It also cited studies by Murphy, Simons, Wetzel, & Lustman (1984); Rush, Beck, & Kovac (1977) to show that CBT to be effective in treating the physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms associated with depression – short term as well as long term depression. These studies indicated that the onset of depression causes changes in a bipolar person’s way of thinking. These thought patterns are quickly displayed in behavioral changes (increase/decrease of activity) or social interactions. These behavioral/social interaction changes start to interfere with a person’s psychosocial interactions, which causes physical problems (insomnia, emotional distress). CBT helps by enhancing medication compliance and offering people cognitive and behavioral strategies for overcoming some of the symptoms that can lead to dysfunctional behavior.The methods that therapist can use to apply CBT Once a client has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, CBT as an intervention begins with an assessment of the client’s strengths. Then the therapist can introduce the client to CBT methods and intensive education about the illness, its symptoms, its course and availa...
