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Help for Children With Bipolar

Bipolar disorder is a mood-related condition that can drive children to behave negatively, showing great risk for self-harm or injury to others. Children with bipolar disorder can have a tough time socializing, participating in school and behaving well at home. Psychotherapy, support groups, medications and nutrition can all play a role in getting help for bipolar children.

  1. Nutrition

    • Because parents largely control the foods their bipolar children eat, they can provide nutritionally balanced meals to improve mood stability. Adding foods rich in omega-3 and folate has also demonstrated improved brain functions. Tryptophan can also be beneficial because it produces the amino acids that make serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for mood balance. A 2002 Royal Psychiatry study led by Dr. Bernard Gesch showed that nutrition can have a significant positive effect on mental health to include bipolar disorder. Two hundred patients being treated for depression at a mental health center were given B6 supplements. Sixty percent showed reported significant mood improvement and 25 percent reported minor improvement.

    Psychotherapy

    • Psychotherapy can help bipolar children deal with their symptoms. These therapists might employ techniques to help children cope with often polarizing thoughts. For example, a bipolar child may simultaneously want to harm another student for staring too long and also know that he is really a curious friend. Therapists could ask the child to imagine the positive thought in one hand, the negative in another. He would then quickly smash the hands together, symbolizing a combining of the two thoughts to produce the most beneficial solution.

    Medications

    • Mental health medications, when administered and prescribed properly, can still be used on bipolar children. Doctors usually recommend lithium or divalproex (Depakote) as first-line medications for psychotic symptom treatment. Carbamazepine (Tegretol) has also shown to be an effective mood stabilizer. Antidepressants, however, are not recommended because there is significant increase of suicide risks, especially with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

    Support Groups

    • Support groups are another form of help for bipolar kids and their parents. Support groups for parents with bipolar kids can help facilitate an exchange of ideas for symptom management. Groups of bipolar children can discuss their feelings with each other, which can help them feel less alone in their condition. They can also provide a safe harbor discussion, allowing parents to freely vent frustrations and share stories about their bipolar children. Some groups are facilitated by mental health professionals that can offer advice on anything from behavioral intervention techniques to the benefits and drawbacks of certain prescribed medications.

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