Treatment adherence is a frequent problem in bipolar disorder, with research showing that upwards of 60% of bipolar patients are at least partially nonadherent to medications. Treatment nonadherence is consistently predictive of a number of negative outcomes in bipolar samples, and the discontinuation of mood stabilizers places these patients at high risk for relapse. Several types of adjunctive treatment (family, psychoeducational, cognitive-behavioral) have been investigated for improving symptoms and functioning in bipolar patients with some success. To date, less attention has been paid to developing treatments specifically to promote treatment adherence to and engagement with pharmacological as well as behavioral treatments in patients with bipolar disorder. First, we review the effects of adjunctive interventions specifically on treatment adherence outcomes in 14 published clinical trials. Based on this empirical knowledgebase, we present a preliminary description of the treatment strategies that appear most promising for improving adherence. We also provide research recommendations for developing more effective interventions for the purpose of improving bipolar treatment adherence. Special treatment considerations, including the potential impact of comorbid substance abuse and bipolar depression, are discussed. Keywords bipolar disorder; adherence; psychosocial treatments; mood stabilizers; clinical trials; bipolar depression; substance use disorders Bipolar disorder is typically a chronic and severe mental illness present in 1-2% of the general population (Kessler et al., 1994;Regier et al., 1988). If diagnoses of bipolar II disorder are included in estimates, the prevalence increases to 3.9% (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005). Bipolar disorder is reported to be the 6 th leading cause of disability worldwide in those ages 15-44 (Murray & Lopez, 1996), and recent estimates suggest that medication and treatment costs for bipolar patients exceed $17,000 per individual annually (Stender, Bryant-Comstock, & Phillips, 2002). The societal and personal burdens of bipolar disorder are due in part to its typically impairing course of illness. Over 70% of bipolar patients experience at least one recurrence within 4 years of the index episode (Gitlin, Swendsen, Heller, & Hammen, 1995). Judd et al. (2002) studied the symptomatic course in bipolar I patients for an average of 13 years, and reported that individuals spent 32% of the time with clinically significant depression symptoms, 9% with Address correspondence to: Brandon A. Gaudiano, Butler Hospital, Psychosocial Research Program, 345
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript manic symptoms, and 6% with mixed symptoms. Unfortunately, these high rates of relapse, symptomatic illness, and impairment are frequently reported even in bipolar samples receiving maintenance pharmacotherapy (Gitlin et al., 1995;Harrow, Goldberg, Grossman, & Meltzer, 1990;Miller, Uebelacker, Keitner, Ryan, & Solomon, 2004).A Wor...