Bipolar Disorder can be a difficult illness to have. For many people the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder occurs after having struggled for years to find help. Untreated Bipolar Disorders can present in many different ways and follow unpredictable paths. Depression can cause significant burdens for individuals and their families. Depression is often the part of a Bipolar Disorder that most often brings an individual into therapy to get help. For many individuals, they or others do not initially see manic and hypomanic episodes as problematic in that the individual feels better, is more productive, and more engaging with others.
Bipolar Disorders are treatable biological illnesses that can be effectively managed with medication and psychotherapy. I strongly believe that successful treatment and management of Bipolar Illnesses requires teamwork. This team is the client, the psychiatrist, primary care physician and the therapist.
Bipolar Disorder Psycho-educational Group:
Kat Zilboorg am interested in developing a 4-week group for family members, significant others and/or friends of an individual with Bipolar Disorder. If you are interested, please give me a call.
This is a 15- week group where sessions have a particular focus with in-session education, tasks, and with reading and other assignments to do between each group. In this group, participants will be sharing information, feelings, and life experiences with each other.
This group is about getting to know yourself through understanding the general cycle of your mood disorder, identifying your own individual patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings when you are symptomatic and when you are not. We will work with identifying your individual early warning system, leading to the development of tools and tactics to keep yourself functioning. My goal is to help you learn ways to be in charge of your own lives in whatever ways are enjoyable, productive and meaningful for each of you.
Group members must be referred by and continuing to work with an individual therapist and psychiatrist. All members are required to sign releases allowing co-ordination of care with other providers. Participants who are also in recovery from substance abuse, and/or are working on co-occurring emotional problems are welcome. A new group begins whenever enough people are interested in forming a group.
