Intensive psychotherapy with bipolar disorder

Adding to an emerging literature on individual psychotherapy with bipolar disorder, this case study describes intensive psychotherapy with a 39-year-old woman who had a rapid cycling disorder. She had been treated over several years with a range of psychotropic medications, cognitive psychotherapy, and several courses of electroconvulsive therapy, but her illness had remained severe and relapsing with predominantly depressive episodes. Psychotherapy brought significant improvement that was sustained over long-term follow-up. The theoretical framework presented here draws on psychodynamic and trauma and attachment theories with a focus on secure attachment and the capacity to self-sooth and to mentalize.