15 Consumer-driven care To allay some of the impracticalities associated with providing intensive psychosocial treatments, peer-provided services may be useful in bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder could be trained to deliver manualizcd interventions, they could provide augmentative functions, or could extend the availability of services beyond the consultation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of structured professionally led groups. Given that bipolar disorder is a chronic condition, these community-based approaches are attractive in that they can be and are already are sustained in the community. Mutual

support interventions exist for bipolar disorder, and are exemplified by the support groups C59 sponsored Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical by the Depression and Bipolar Support. Alliance (www.dbsalli ance.org) . Sequence or stepped-care based strategies A number of recent practical clinical trials have evaluated sequential treatment strategies. .For example,

the National Institutes of Mental Health-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieving Depression (STARID) trial first administered citalopram to all participants and then randomized unrecovered subjects to a variety of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical different treatment arms.74 Such sequenced approaches to care mimic real world clinical decision making, and could be applied to the study of psychotherapy for bipolar disorder. The sequence of brief psychoeducation to intensive psychotherapy in unremitted individuals could be one logical approach to allocating psychosocial treatment, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to people with bipolar disorder. Conclusions These are turbulent, times in the history of the treatment, of bipolar disorder.

Along with the expansion in medication options for bipolar disorder, the role of psychotherapy as an augmentative treatment has grown from a place of questionable utility to approaching Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical evidencebased care in a relatively brief period of time. There are a number of modalities of psychosocial intervention for bipolar disorder that have been evaluated in randomized clinical trials, along with some emerging directions for future psychotherapeutic approaches. There is an inadequate understanding about the essential ingredients of these psychotherapeutic approaches, and little evidence to determine which works best for which subgroups of patients. However, addressing medication nonadherence is a common factor in many of these modalities, very and has long been recognized as a central clinical concern in managing bipolar disorder. Limited evidence suggests that. adherence can be improved with multicomponent interventions aimed at improving patient knowledge, acceptance, and management of pharmacotherapy, along with enhancing participation in the treatment decision-making process. A structured approach to the enhancement. of medication adherence should be a part of the treatment regimen for all patients with bipolar disorder.