- Contents
- Introduction
- What is bipolar disorder?
- What are the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents?
- How does bipolar disorder affect children and adolescents differently than adults?
- How is bipolar disorder detected in children and adolescents?
- What illnesses often co-exist with bipolar disorder in children and adolescents?
- What treatments are available for children and adolescents with bipolar disorder?
- Medications
- Psychotherapy
- What can children and adolescents with bipolar disorder expect from treatment?
- Where can families of children with bipolar disorder get help?
- What if my child is in crisis?
- Citations
- For more information on bipolar disorder
What treatments are available for children and adolescents with bipolar disorder?
Currently, there is no cure for bipolar disorder. However, treatment with medications, psychotherapy, or both may help people recover from their episodes, and may help to prevent future episodes.
To treat children and teens with bipolar disorder, doctors often rely on information about treating adults. This is because there haven't been many studies on treating young people with the illness.
One large study with adults funded by NIMH was the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD). This study found that treating adults with medications and intensive psychotherapy for about 9 months helped them get better. These adults got better faster and stayed well longer than adults treated with less intensive psychotherapy for 6 weeks.21 Combining medication treatment and psychotherapies may help young people with early-onset bipolar disorder as well.22 However, children sometimes respond differently to psychiatric medications than adults.
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