Treatment of Bipolar Illness

Robert M. Post, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University, and Penn State College of Medicine, and Head of the Bipolar Collaborative Network. For 37 years he worked at NIMH studying and treating treatment-resistant unipolar and bipolar patients. Gabriele S. Leverich, LCSW, BCD, was Head of Longitudinal Studies in the Biological Psychiatry Branch at NIMH, and is a Principal Investigator in the Bipolar Collaborative Network.

"[A]n excellent resource for practicing clinicians, who will identify many of their patients in the richly described cases..." "[A]uthoritative, unique, and well-written...Clinicians, students, residents, and experts knowledgeable in bipolar illness will appreciate the authors' clarity and perspective." -- Alan Gruenberg "[B]rings both doctor and patient onto the same page-a rare yet critical accomplishment." "[T]he most up-to-date, comprehensive visual teaching guide...currently available...It should be recommended reading for resident psychiatrists and general practitioners and will be an invaluable literary resource...should be a standard textbook for every young clinician and researcher aiming to develop expertise in bipolar disorder." "The authors] have done a major service to the field, sharing their insights gleaned from years of experience in the trenches." "This work sets a new standard that should transform the day-to-day care of these patients and their families. It is a clinical masterpiece that would be hard to surpass." -- Hagop S. Akiskal, M.D., Professor and Director of International Mood Center, University of California at San Diego

• Contents: I. Introduction * II. Phenomenology of Untreated Course of Illness * III. Pharmacology and Neurobiology of Bipolar Illness * IV. Response to Mood Stabilizers * V. Other Anticonvulsants * VI. Calcium Channel Blockers * VII. Antidepressants * VIII. Benzodiazepines * IX. Antipsychotics * X. Complex Combination Therapy * XI. Electroconvulsive Therapy * XII. Other Somatic Treatments * XIII. Dietary and Other Supplements * XIV. Illness Complications and Comorbidity * XV. Childhood Onset of Bipolar Illness * XVI. Conclusion * XVII. Appendices