Disorder treatment

completed training in a shorter version of IPSRT over 12 weeks, and will start using it with patients this year.

The health board was approached for information about therapeutic treatment offered for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder but could not provide this before publication.

Worldwide, it has proven difficult to translate therapies developed by academics into practical day-to-day treatment. ‘‘That’s where we are at an advantage, because we are linked to the DHB and we hope that will give us an advantage in improving treatment,’’ Porter says.

Mental Health Foundation manager Shaun Robinson says the Government’s mental health inquiry made it clear that access to talking therapies for all mental health disorders, including bipolar, was ‘‘woefully inadequate’’ and ‘‘unacceptable’’.

Robinson was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 25 years ago and treated immediately with medication. He was strongly advised to get counselling but was not offered it.

He found the diagnosis a ‘‘great relief’’ as it gave him a framework to help understand and manage his symptoms.

The medication worked well and he was able to pay for private therapy, but he says there are other ‘‘drivers’’ of mental illness that cannot be treated with medication and therapy alone. Life circumstances and experiences, such as child abuse, poverty, homelessness and racism, fall outside the dominant ‘‘medicalised’’ treatment approach.

Sarah says therapy has given her the confidence to manage her moods and wellbeing – something she once thought impossible.

‘‘I do feel quite sad for people who don’t have family and . . . end up in a cloud of medication and not actually getting to live their life.’’

* – Not her real name.