Assessment, Recognition and Differential Diagnosis
Depression: Unipolar vs. Bipolar and Why It Matters
- Why it’s essential to identify depressive mixed states
- 7 crucial symptoms of mania/hypomania to evaluate
- Evaluation beyond symptoms is critical to diagnosis and treatment
- Bipolar spectrum and mood temperaments
- Case studies:
- Misdiagnosed depression
- A teen on Zoloft who committed suicide
- Hyperthymic temperament: A little craziness and a lot of success
- Why every clinician needs to know a thing or two about substance abuse
- Is my patient alcoholic? Don’t ask these two questions to find out!
- Key questions to detect covert substance abuse
- 4-part clinical diagnostic method
- Avoid misdiagnosis: How to distinguish bipolar from borderline personality disorder
- A key symptom difference between adult ADHD and bipolar
Clinical Treatment Interventions
Evidence-Based Psychotherapy for Bipolar
- Help clients accept a bipolar diagnosis
- Address key issues in treatment
- Integrate core concepts into daily practice
- Psychodynamics of euphoric and irritable hypomania
- Treat bipolar disorder, not individual symptoms
- Case study: creativity, comedy and madness
- 4 red flags that predict suicide completion
- Assess suicide risk factors
- Risk management: Practical strategies to protect your client and yourself
- The only medication to dramatically reduce suicide risk – not an antidepressant!
- Fears and misconceptions
- Antidepressants don’t work for bipolar depression
- Benefits and risks of:
- Mood stabilizers (Lithium, Depakote, Tegretol, and more)
- Atypical antipsychotics (Lamictal, Risperidone, Abilify, and more)
- The future of medication for bipolar disorder – research and new classes of drugs
- Bipolar depression and suboptimal thyroid functioning
- Unrecognized medical illness
- Highly effective non-pharmacological treatments
- Circadian rhythm interventions
- Nutritional interventions