If you’re living with bipolar disorder, supportive therapy is a clinically backed treatment worth exploring. Many people seek answers on how to manage mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, which can involve intense mood shifts and unpredictable behaviors. While traditional methods like behavioral therapy are well-established, it’s important to understand that therapy is not one-size-fits-all. Different approaches work best for different people.
One powerful approach is supportive therapy, which helps individuals recognize and interrupt the patterns of their disorder in order to regain a sense of control and stability. At Royal Life Centers, we proudly offer supportive therapy as part of our comprehensive mental health treatment. Let’s take a closer look at how this therapeutic method can help individuals manage bipolar disorder effectively.
What Is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by extreme shifts in mood, energy, and behavior. It’s classified into three distinct types: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and Cyclothymic Disorder (also known as cyclothymia). These mood changes can be confusing and overwhelming for both the individual and their loved ones.
You may have heard bipolar disorder referred to in the past as “manic depression” or “manic-depressive illness.” While those terms are outdated, they highlight the defining feature of bipolar disorder: alternating periods of emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).
The Bipolar Cycle: Highs, Lows, and In-Between
People with bipolar disorder typically experience:
- Manic Episodes: Periods of elevated mood, increased energy, racing thoughts, talkativeness, and impulsive or risky behavior. Mania can sometimes lead to hospitalization if symptoms become severe.
- Depressive Episodes: Times of low mood, fatigue, withdrawal, hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal ideation. These symptoms often mirror those of major depressive disorder.
- Neutral Periods: Intervals where mood and energy stabilize. These can vary in length and frequency depending on the individual.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
Understanding the type of bipolar disorder you have can make a major difference in how your treatment is approached. Here’s a breakdown of the three main types:
Bipolar I Disorder
This is the most severe form. It involves full-blown manic episodes lasting at least a week (or requiring hospitalization) and may also include depressive episodes. Individuals may swing rapidly between mania and depression or have periods of stability between episodes.
Bipolar II Disorder
Bipolar II includes depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes—a milder form of mania. While less severe than Bipolar I, Bipolar II can still be disruptive. Many people with this type can remain highly functional, and some may even view their hypomanic states as productive or beneficial. However, without proper treatment, symptoms can escalate over time.
Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymia is a milder but still impactful form of bipolar disorder. It involves frequent mood swings that don’t fully meet the criteria for mania or major depression. These emotional ups and downs may be less intense but can still interfere with daily life and well-being. Like the other types, cyclothymia benefits greatly from structured treatment.
How Is Bipolar Disorder Treated?
Effective treatment for bipolar disorder must be personalized. At Royal Life Centers, we don’t reduce people to their diagnosis—we treat them as whole individuals with unique challenges, strengths, and goals. Our bipolar disorder treatment programs are tailored to each guest’s specific needs.
Guests collaborate with our clinical team to develop a custom service plan that addresses their diagnosis, treatment goals, and any potential barriers to care. For example, some may worry about the cost of private mental health treatment. Fortunately, our staff is experienced in helping guests navigate insurance coverage and financial options.
Beyond removing these obstacles, we offer support every step of the way—from admissions through in-center setup and ongoing therapy. With the right tools and compassionate care, long-term mood stabilization and recovery are possible.
Initial Assessment for Bipolar Disorder
The first step when you begin treatment for bipolar disorder at Royal Life Centers is an initial assessment. This is a valuable time for you to meet with one of our mental health professionals, who bring backgrounds in psychiatry and counseling. They will lead you through questions about your bipolar and how it affects your life. This is your space to be open and honest, as together you’ll create a service plan based on your discussion. If you do not have a diagnosis of a type of bipolar disorder, you can receive one from your therapist. As mentioned, receiving a diagnosis opens doors to more tailored treatment.
Additionally, some of our guests receive dual diagnoses, meaning they have more than one mental health or substance use disorder. If you have co-occurring conditions, do not worry! We are fully equipped to treat them together in a single, comprehensive service plan, available in both inpatient and outpatient treatment settings.
Individualized Treatment Plan for Bipolar Disorder
After your initial assessment and diagnosis, we put all the puzzle pieces together to create your individual treatment plan! At this point, you’re ready to begin the next stages of programming. Overall, your continuing time in treatment will include individual therapy, group therapy, holistic activities, and optional medication management. (Prescription medication for symptom management is something you’ll discuss in your assessment.) As you work through programming for bipolar disorder, you’ll learn more about your condition and how to healthily manage it. Additionally, you’ll develop trust and confidence as you interact with other peers who understand what you’re going through.
If at any point you want to make adjustments to your treatment plan, your mental health team is there. Above all, the goal is your highest wellbeing!
Supportive Therapies for Bipolar Disorder at a Mental Health Center
As with all mental health conditions, there are various approaches your treatment can take. Often, there is some trial and error involved to ensure the individual has customized support. By all means, we want our guests to control their recovery and say what is working or not. The same is true with bipolar disorder treatment at Royal Life Centers. However, we recommend guests try to work through a few specific psychotherapy options that are verified to treat bipolar disorder.
These include supportive therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Additionally, each of our guests participates in a mixture of traditional and holistic therapies. This whole-person approach to healing guarantees our guests experience restoration for their entire being while in recovery programming. And beneficially, people can continue both their psychotherapy and alternative therapy preferences after graduating from treatment.
Psychotherapy for Bipolar Disorder
Psychotherapy refers to traditional evidence-based talk therapy approaches. There are numerous psychotherapy methods, including many under the heading of behavioral therapy. For example, common psychotherapy techniques are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and its relative dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). One additional psychotherapy for bipolar disorder is supportive therapy. You can think of this psychotherapy method as pulling from CBT while focusing on relationship development and symptom relief.
Supportive therapy is a lesser-known psychotherapy. However, it is flexible to a wide range of people, making it ideal for treating the instability of bipolar disorder. We’re happy to utilize it to help our guests improve their bipolar while learning more about themselves and their diagnosis.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
CBT and DBT are often discussed with the question of which is better for which mental health conditions. In many ways, the answer can be dependent on what works best for the individual. However, dialectical behavioral therapy is especially beneficial for bipolar because of its focus on emotion regulation and mood symptom management. Notably, you can follow traditional DBT as well as radically open DBT (RO-DBT), which has an emphasis on managing overcontrol.
Some of the outcomes of DBT on bipolar disorder include emotional regulation skills, increased symptom tolerance, relationship-building tools, and self-awareness. Additionally, DBT has specific practices and skills that aid in the process, such as ABC Please. This is an acronym for a set of guidelines on how to best manage emotional regulation when you have bipolar disorder. Points include accumulating positive experiences, building mastery, avoiding substances, and maintaining quality sleep.
Holistic Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
Holistic therapy is the final ingredient in the recipe for bipolar disorder therapies. This term encompasses a wide range of alternative healing practices. Markedly, what makes holistic treatment so valuable is how it focuses on the whole (holistic) self. While psychotherapy targets your mind, holistic therapy is able to improve wellness of your body and spirit as well. Some examples of alternative treatments include massage therapy, yoga, mindfulness, sound baths, and experiential activities.
Professional Help for Bipolar Disorder Near Me
Depending on what diagnosis you have and how your condition presents itself, bipolar disorder may disrupt your life. If your disorder is causing problems or holding you back, there’s no time to wait in receiving treatment. Therapy and alternative healing are life-changing methods that are easy to begin. We’re happy to make treatment straightforward by providing a one-stop program for bipolar disorder. Professional help can truly change your life and help you find greater peace and fulfillment
Whether you’re interested in bipolar disorder supportive therapy or another method, we’d love to talk with you. We’re available any time, so give us a call today.
