Care of Bipolar Children

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the patient undergoes intense swings from manic highs to depressive lows due to chemical imbalances in the brain. Though the diagnosis of BPD is most commonly reserved for adults with the symptoms, some studies have shown adult sufferers displayed the symptoms before the age of ten. Regardless, it is a controversial diagnosis to make in a child's case, and the care of a child with BPD is consequently difficult.

Systems of Care

• Because it is widely accepted that the administration of mood-altering medication can be dangerous to children, an alternative method known as Systems of Care has been developed. Systems of Care is a coordinated network of cooperative organizations dedicated to meeting the complicated needs of children who suffer from serious mental disorders like BPD and their families.

  Systems of Care offers help by meeting the unique needs of each child and family individually, respecting parents' views and values, and allowing treatment and aid to come from within the family's community, if possible. According to Mentalhealth.samhsa.gov's article concerning Systems of Care, the organization has been shown to be effective in allowing BPD youths to improve emotional and behavioral functioning, limiting conflicts with the youths' peers, and allowing caregivers to more adequately perform their duties.

Psychotherapy and Medication

• Psychotherapy is an umbrella term for a wide variety of therapeutic techniques, each designed to meet a different set of needs and provide a different sort of treatment. The most common shared thread among the practices is allowing the patient to receive mental help from a mental health professional or group of more than one. The most widely-studied practice is cognitive behavioral therapy, in which the patient is taught a number of self-employable cognitive and behavioral skills to help them with mood difficulties.

  Systems of Care is a different method of psychotherapy specifically tailored to meeting the needs of children with BPD. Should psychotherapy prove insufficient to help a child's case of BPD, medication may be considered necessary. Though medication is largely eschewed by a large body of psychiatrists in the treatment of BPD in children for developmental health reasons, BPD is a very debilitating disease and the risk associated with administering medication to a child may outweigh the risks. Just as a childhood diagnosis of BPD is controversial, the medical treatment of such a diagnosis is an equally contentious subject.