The diagnosis of bipolar has risen fortyfold in children and adolescents

The diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents has risen fortyfold since 1994, according to a study released Monday. But researchers partly attributed the dramatic rise to doctors over-diagnosing the serious psychiatric disorder.

The report in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry said bipolar disorder was found in 1,003 of every 100,000 office visits from children and adolescents in 2002-03, compared with 25 of 100,000 office visits in 1994-95.

The diagnosis of bipolar disorder among adults increased twofold during the same period, researchers said.

The study didn't investigate the reasons for the sudden rise in bipolar cases among children and adolescents. A book published in 2000, "The Bipolar Child," made the controversial assertion that one-third to one-half of children with depression had bipolar disorder.

Effective talk therapy not available enough for bipolar patients

Psychological therapy can greatly boost the effectiveness of drugs in treating bipolar disorder, but these specialized talk therapies aren't as widely available as they should be, experts say.

Second Centreville meeting to start Sept. 17

A second weekly meeting at Centreville United Methodist Church for those who have bipolar will begin meeting on Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 218. The meeting, known as Centreville Bipolar Support Group I, will be held each Monday and is designed to be smaller gathering and to help with overcrowding in the Tuesday night meetings, which will continue to be held each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the same room.

The Monday night meetings will be a trial for the next three months, and at that time it will be determined whether they will be continued into the future. A facilitator, or facilitators, have not been announced for the Monday meeting yet. If you are interested, write Jayson Blair at jayson@jayson-blair.com.

Woodbridge group now focuses on bipolar and depression; begins meeting each week

The Woodbridge group has changed its name to the Woodbridge Support Group and will begin accepting participants who suffer from depression as well as those with bipolar.
The support group, which has grown rapidly since beginning in July, also will begin meeting each week starting Sept. 5.

The group is expanding its mission beyond those with bipolar due to the lack of support groups for those with depression in southern and eastern Prince William County.
Members of the group overwhelmingly have said that they would like to see the group meet more often than the every other week schedule the group was on before Sept. 5.

If you have any questions about the Woodbridge Support Group, feel free to contact Mike at woodbridge@dbsanova.org.

Intensive psychosocial rehab helps depressed bipolar patients

Psychosocial interventions are effective adjuncts to pharmacotherapy in delaying recurrences of bipolar disorder; however, to date their effects on life functioning have been given little attention. In a randomized trial, the authors examined the impact of intensive psychosocial treatment plus pharmacotherapy on the functional outcomes of patients with bipolar disorder over the 9 months following a depressive episode, according to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry.