Advances in Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Advances in the treatment of bipolar disorders have been sufficiently rapid that recent efforts to summarize management options for clinicians, such as the 2002 revision of the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for Bipolar Disorders (2002), quickly become outdated. In this book the authors review recent developments, emphasizing interventions supported by controlled studies. Recent research has not only helped the authors better understand the utility of older medications and has provided clinicians with important new treatment options for bipolar disorders. Efforts to provide evidence-based care have been substantively facilitated by data from the recent controlled trials described in this volume. Although progress has been encouraging, clinical needs continue to exceed the treatment options supported by controlled data, and additional research is required to allow further progress in addressing the challenges facing clinicians caring for patients with bipolar disorders.