This course is a basic introduction to the basic science relative to Bipolar Disorders. Components include what we know about the development of mood disorders and the brain mechanisms upon which these disorders are based. This includes environmental mutations of the brain, brain growth and development, psychological development and stages of development, neuroplasticity and neurologically informed treatment.
Traditionally, bipolar spectrum disorders have been treated with "medication only approaches" and this has led psychiatry to conclude that these diseases are not likely to change! However, research on neuroplasticity, learning and the brain, and cognitive therapies and family therapies and assertive community treatment models do not share this conclusion. Clearly, research has made the limitations of psychotropic medications increasingly clear. Those who treat severe mental illness with more than major tranquilizers, mood stabilizers (membrane potential changers), and antidepressants do not share the pessimistic view and point to science supporting their positions.
Still, many Bipolar Spectrum Disorders are being mistreated with "medication only approaches" in the USA, and most psychiatrists lead this movement.
The Medical Psychologist must adhere to more scientifically, morally, and ethically based approaches to these disorders.
By the end of this course you will have a general perspective about the multifactorial causes of Bipolar Disorders (family and developmental environments, chronic stress, gene triggers that interact with the environment, and trauma), the ability of the brain to grow with the proper reprograming, the appropriate treatment plans to effect change (multitechnique), and adopt a "hopeful, optimistic, and reassuring philosophical position" so helpful to these patients and families. Additionally, you will be able to use this knowledge to lobby insurance companies and other payer sources on behalf of these patients, to educate the public, and to educate patients and families suffering from these disorders.