Fostering “Buy-In” with Patient Education

Dr. James Phelps addresses the important topic of patient education towards facilitating treatment compliance. In an article entitled Fostering “Buy-In”: Step One in Bipolar Spectrum Treatment, Dr. Phelps notes that “many patients need to start their bipolar education almost at the very beginning. Wouldn't it save a lot of time and energy to be able to refer patients to a reliable source of this information?” This article explores these sources: the Internet for guided patient education, the Bipolarity Index from Massachusetts General Hospital's (MGH's) Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (MDQ), the Hypomania/Mania Symptom Checklist (HCL-32) and “Mixed States as Waves” - a visual model for patients.