The aim of this research was to examine how people with and without a diagnosis of bipolar disorder detect changes in mood and respond to these changes to manage mood variation.

Eight stages of mood management, which we are all hypothesised to go through, were proposed based on the Self Regulation Model framework (SRM; Leventhal et al. 1984). Identification of stage(s) at which analogue and clinical samples differ could explain why people with bipolar experience mood swings i.e. fail to regulate mood leading to mood escalation (up or down) and may provide important indications of where interventions for bipolar disorder should be concentrated.

Phase 1 investigated moment-by-moment, naturally occurring mood changes using Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM). Phase 2 examined mood management following mood induction in a controlled laboratory environment. Phase 3 analysed data from participants receiving a psychosocial intervention as part of the PARADES Psychoeducation trial, to see how taking part in this type of intervention effects participants ability to recognise early warning signs and employ coping strategies to improve their overall clinical course.

Findings from Phase 3 will be linked back to the previous two phases to look at stages at which psychoeducation for bipolar disorder may be best concentrated.

For more information, please contact Heather Robinson at h.robinson@lancaster.ac.uk