Individuals who are looking for bipolar disorder treatment at a more flexible schedule may benefit from online therapy. While inpatient bipolar disorder treatment can be useful for the highest level of care or for individuals who require hospitalization and interventions, virtual mental health programming may be a better fit, depending upon the severity of your bipolar symptoms. Because bipolar disorder affects individuals differently, it may be important to see what options are available to figure out what’s the right treatment for you or your loved one.
Online therapy services provide individuals who are seeking bipolar disorder treatment with the option to address their mental health concerns from the comfort of their own home. Online therapy sessions may be easier to fit into a busy schedule, skipping the time spent commuting or in a waiting room. Additionally, virtual therapy can make licensed therapists more accessible to a greater number of people, across providers. While a great number of individuals still prefer in-person sessions, online therapy sessions can be just as fruitful and effective, and recent stats show that 86% of teletherapy users report satisfaction with their experiences.1
Specifically, there has been measurable success in utilizing online therapy in combination with psychiatric treatment. One study found outcomes of reductions in symptoms were large on all measures (effect sizes > 1.0 on all measures, percentage change between 32.4% and 40%), and lesson completion and satisfaction with the course of treatment and online therapy were also high.2
AMFM Mental Health Treatment has over a decade of experience providing mental health care to individuals struggling with different types of bipolar disorder across the country, both face-to-face and virtually. To learn more about bipolar disorder and online therapeutic treatment, read below, or take a free assessment to connect with our friendly admissions team.
Hypomania refers to a shorter duration of manic symptoms, with generally milder symptoms. In order to be diagnosed with Bipolar II, an individual must experience at least one episode of hypomania, in addition to an episode of depression (manic depression). According to the DSM-5, hypomanic episodes are common in Bipolar I Disorder as well, but are not required for the diagnosis of Bipolar I.
In order to be diagnosed with Bipolar II, an individual must experience both a hypomanic and a depressive episode. Depressive episodes are characterized by low moods, suicidal thoughts, or other common symptoms of depression like loss of interest, low self-esteem, fatigue, or changes in appetite. If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal ideation and need immediate medical assistance, please call 911 for emergency medical attention, or 988, the National Suicide and Crisis hotline, which is available 24/7, free of cost.
Therapy for Bipolar Disorder is a key piece of effective treatment for a greater quality of life and emotional regulation with this lifelong condition, and may help you or your loved one with executive functioning throughout the day. Seeking care from a mental health professional can help regulate extreme mood episodes for a long-term lifestyle change. AMFM Mental Health Treatment offers a combination of holistic mental health services and evidence-based therapies to provide treatment options that meet your individual needs:
Individual therapy takes place in a one on one setting with a licensed professional, usually consisting of a combination of dialectical and cognitive behavioral therapies, in which a person can talk through his or her individual struggles. Individual therapy and mental health care is one of the most crucial steps for those facing mental health challenges.
Group therapy sessions can be used to help provide structured times to help you understand that you are not alone in your struggles, that your peers are also walking through these challenges, while also providing guidance, suggestions and communications from psychologists with specialized backgrounds. These groups can span a variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to art therapy, somatic therapy, and narrative therapy.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy that’s focused on restructuring and reprogramming maladaptive and negative thought processes. Psychologists are trained to help you change your cognitive and emotional processes in order to outgrow coping mechanisms that may no longer be serving you.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is most commonly referred to as “talk therapy,” and is designed to help process emotions. Qualified professionals offer psychological therapy to move forward with healthy ways of engaging in interpersonal relationships and alleviating physical and emotional distress.
AMFM Mental Health Treatment provides comprehensive psychiatric care for bipolar disorder, along with traditional therapeutic modalities. Our on-staff clinicians are equipped to design personalized treatment plans for your continued success. In combination with psychotherapy, psychiatric care is handled safely, to help you or your loved one overcome mental health challenges. Psychiatric services may be available virtually in addition to online therapy.
For over half a century, Lithium has been used as a mood stabilizer to treat bipolar disorder, treating both the manic episodes as well as the bipolar depression. However, Lithium treatment can have side effects and complications in long-term use on the kidney and thyroid, and it’s important that an individual keep his or her clinical team in the loop on any side effects as they come up.
Antidepressants and antipsychotics are both commonly used (alone and in tandem) in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder as mood stabilizers. However, rapid cycling is sometimes a side effect that is associated with antidepressant treatment in bipolar disorder. Conventional antipsychotics have been proven to be effective for short-term treatment of Bipolar Disorder, but there has been little research on the long-term efficacy of antipsychotics and antidepressants for individuals living with bipolar disorder.
Family therapy may be used when a loved one’s mental health symptoms are affecting others. This can increase a family members’ understanding of anxiety and talk about how to support each other. Family-focused therapy sessions and support groups can improve communication patterns, focus on problem-solving, address unresolved conflicts, and increase the sense of understanding among one another.
AMFM Mental Health Treatment has extensive experience treating a variety of mental health disorders beyond Bipolar Disorder through evidence-based therapies, including but not limited to the following:
Recovery can feel isolating; mental health programming can provide cohesive treatment plans to help you or your loved one as you move forward.
What to Expect
Insurance Verification
Our team will verify if your insurance provider is in-network with an AMFM Healthcare Facility.
Contact From Admission Representative:
Expect a call within an hour from an admissions representative to discuss treatment options.
30+ teletherapy statistics (success rates + effectiveness). Crown Counseling. (2024, September 25). https://crowncounseling.com/statistics/teletherapy-stats/
Nielssen O, Staples L, Karin E, Kayrouz R, Dear B, Titov N. Effectiveness of internet delivered cognitive behaviour therapy provided as routine care for people in the depressed phase of bipolar disorder treated with Lithium. PLOS Digit Health. 2023 Feb 22;2(2):e0000194. doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000194. PMID: 36812646; PMCID: PMC9946241.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/bipolar-disorder
Novick DM, Swartz HA, Frank E. Suicide attempts in bipolar I and bipolar II disorder: a review and meta-analysis of the evidence. Bipolar Disord. 2010 Feb;12(1):1-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00786.x. PMID: 20148862; PMCID: PMC4536929.
Mental Health Services Administration. DSM-5 Changes: Implications for Child Serious Emotional Disturbance [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2016 Jun. Table 12, DSM-IV to DSM-5 Bipolar I Disorder Comparison. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t8/
Bielecki JE, Gupta V. Cyclothymic Disorder. [Updated 2023 Jul 17]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557877/
Burdick KE, Millett CE, Russo M, Et. al, The association between lithium use and neurocognitive performance in patients with bipolar disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2020 Sep;45(10):1743-1749. doi: 10.1038/s41386-020-0683-2. Epub 2020 Apr 29. PMID: 32349118; PMCID: PMC7419515.
Kusumakar V. Antidepressants and antipsychotics in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63 Suppl 10:23-8. PMID: 12392350.
