Stephen M Strakowski – författare

Bipolar disorder is among the most common conditions affecting humankind and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. It is a complex and dynamic psychiatric condition that makes it difficult to both understand and manage. However, with good management, people affected by bipolar disorder can lead very successful lives. This book was written specifically with new psychiatrists and mental health practitioners in mind to facilitate their ability to care for this condition. Chapters review clinical presentation and epidemiology, etiology and neurobiology, and treatment of bipolar disorder.

One in five adults and one in six youth experience a mental health illness within a year. These common conditions are often managed within complex public and private care provision structures that are fragmented, siloed and difficult to navigate. These problems have become increasingly evident to stakeholders and policy makers, such that several states have started to modernize and improve their mental health care facilities and infrastructure. However, there are no guidelines for these efforts, meaning each group tends to tackle these problems in different ways. Redesigning the US Mental Health Care System brings together an array of experts working to spark lasting change in mental health care systems across the United States. Chapters explore how facility redesigns, accessibility of funding, technological advances, and other strategies can work in tandem to optimize the process of delivering services to people in need. By spotlighting these efforts to implement necessary changes--as well as providing real-life experiences from users and practitioners within these systems--Redesigning the US Mental Health Care System creates a vision of a unified continuum of care designed to serve people at the right time and in the right place.

Bipolar disorders affect up to 3% of the world's population and are the 6th leading cause of disability worldwide. The estimated annual costs of bipolar disorder approach $50 billion in the United States, and the associated societal and personal suffering is immeasurable. Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness that typically begins in mid-adolescence, thereby disrupting healthy developmental processes. It is also a progressive illness, making early intervention even more critical. As the disorder presents differently in youth as it does in adults, considerable controversy exists around the diagnosis in young people. The neurobiological factors leading to the onset of bipolar disorder reflect abnormalities in adolescent brain development. Bipolar disorder is strongly heritable and therefore, these developmental abnormalities likely represent the culmination of processes that precede the expression of symptoms. Current studies of children who are at risk for bipolar disorder are identifying these processes. Again, controversy exists about how to move these neuroscience gains forward to help affected individuals and, particularly to manage children at risk to delay or prevent the onset or progression of bipolar disorder.With these considerations in mind, Bipolar Disorder in Youth provides a timely, focused review of the diagnosis, treatment, and neurobiology of bipolar disorder in youth. It addresses current controversies and resolves those in which evidence is available. The book is organized into three sections based on these topics to provide comprehensive discussions to aid clinicians managing these individuals in their practices, as well as scientists trying to advance the field. The three editors are widely recognized experts in bipolar disorder, and the authors of each chapter represent international experts in the respective topics. Consequently, this book is the most comprehensive volume available discussing this important population and is a 'must' for the libraries of clinicians and scientists working with bipolar children and adolescents.