Interpersonal And Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT)
While everyone’s experience of bipolar disorder is unique, many people will go through the rollercoaster of experiencing very high highs, and very low lows. This can leave a person swinging between experiencing extreme depression, to overwhelming happiness, joy or excitement with high levels of energy, reduced inhibitions, and a reduced need for food or sleep.
Our clients often find that these episodes can have significant and detrimental impacts on their life, damaging their relationships, harming their careers, triggering anxiety and agitation, as well as leading them down the path of risky and self-destructive behaviours that only seem to make things worse.
Psychologists have found that those with bipolar disorder tend to live less structured lives. They may not have regular sleeping patterns, and may eat and drink sporadically. This is where Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) can step in as an essential tool for those with bipolar disorder, helping to find rhythms and a schedule that can prevent these extreme episodes from happening, and help people to feel more in control of their lives.
“Routine is important in bipolar disorder: I try to find the right balance with sleep, work and my social life. I can track the majority of my relapses down to a shift in routine or a major life change,” Tanya.
What Is Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy?
Routines help to ground many people throughout their days, forming consistent and reliable patterns that allow for comfortable predictability. IPSRT is based on research that shows changes or disruptions in daily rhythms and routines (your social rhythms) can actually trigger mood swing episodes in people who are already prone to abrupt changes in mood, such as those with bipolar disorder. This might include the time you go to bed and get up, what your work schedule looks like, and the time you take your medication or eat meals.
Alongside routines, the stress of interpersonal problems, like a relationship conflict, can also impact how stable your mood is over time. A psychologist can use IPSRT to help to minimise the impact of stressful relationships, situations, or significant life events such as marriage or divorce, getting or losing a job, or having a child, by teaching effective coping skills, and helping to create regular rhythms and routines in your life to create structure and prevent episodes from occurring in the first place.
Who Can Benefit From Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy?
IPSRT can help people with bipolar disorders 1 and 2, as well as other mood disorders such as cyclothymia.
What Is The Evidence Behind Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy?
- IPSRT has been shown to help reduce anxious, depressive, and manic symptoms in people with bipolar disorder, improve their overall global functioning, help delay relapse, speed recovery from a bipolar depressive episode, and improve their response to mood stabiliser medications.
- Research also suggests that IPSRT may be an effective strategy for preventing the onset of bipolar disorder in at-risk young people with a family history of bipolar disorder.
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