Group therapy in addition to lithium therapy in patients with bipolar disorders

In patients with a bipolar disorder and well regulated lithium prophylaxis many psychological and social problems still remain. These can lead to non-compliance and relapse, which often increases the problems especially in the patient's direct environment. After group therapy, the self-confidence of 20 patients appeared to have improved compared with 14 control patients on the waiting-list for group therapy. The most important discovery for most of the patients was that their condition is not unique. They also gained the insight that they were potentially able to solve some of their problems themselves.