Learning to Live Better with Bipolar Disorder

David Miklowitz, PhD, has been pioneering family psychoeducational treatments for bipolar disorder by integrating psychotherapy and family therapy with medication. His research emphasizes the critical role families play in identifying the early signs of bipolar disorder and how family members can help a patient implement effective strategies in managing their symptoms.  

 

This episode of The Menninger Clinic’s Mind Dive podcast takes a comprehensive look at bipolar disorder, its effect on family dynamics and how patients and their families can work together to better navigate life after a diagnosis. 

 

“There is a grief over the lost healthy self where people start thinking of their lives as bifurcated before and after they became ill,” Dr. Miklowitz explained. “We try to help normalize it and help them figure out what is their personality versus their disorder.”  

 

Dr. Miklowitz is a professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine and a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford. He directs the Child and Adolescent Mood Disorders Program and the Integrative Study Center in Mood Disorders at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Dr. Miklowitz is also a renowned author; his latest book is Living Well with Bipolar Disorder: Practical Strategies for Improving Your Daily Life.