Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention

The Spectrum Centre is studying how online parenting support specifically for parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder can improve both parents' and children's wellbeing.

About The Study

Aims

We aim to assess whether providing online parenting support (IBPI) for parents with bipolar disorder leads to their children having fewer behavioural and emotional problems. We also want to know whether the online support helps parents feel less stressed and more confident about their parenting and have fewer mood problems. If successful, the IBPI can be made widely available for parents with bipolar disorder.

Why is this project needed now?

Around 800,000 children in the UK live with a parent diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and around 60% of these will experience at least one mental health issue during childhood. This may be because children of parents with bipolar disorder are likely to experience unstable parenting, as mood changes can make delivering consistent parenting difficult. Therefore, parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder often report high levels of stress and low parenting confidence, while their children’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing is also impacted.

There is currently no support available specifically for parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Spectrum is aiming to change this, by creating the integrated bipolar parenting intervention (IBPI)

What is IBPI?

The IBPI (Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention) is an online tool that combines parenting support with helpful strategies for managing bipolar. It has 9 sections, including topics such as "managing emotions","working with strengths" and "making parenting enjoyable". Sections take around 30 minutes each to complete and parents are free to access them whenever they want. It can be accessed on computers, mobile phones or tablets. You can read our Participant Information Sheet here: IBPI PIS

Who's already involved?

We have a range of people involved with this project, including researchers at the Spectrum Centre (Lancaster University) and other universities, and people working in the NHS and charities such as Bipolar UK.

Meet the Team

Advisory Panel

The Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention (IBPI) Advisory Panel at Lancaster University is a dedicated lived‑experience group formed to support and guide the IBPI Research Trial. All members of the panel are parents with relevant personal experience of bipolar, bringing invaluable insight into the realities of family life, parenting challenges, and support needs within the context of bipolar. Their lived expertise helps ensure that the research remains grounded in the everyday experiences of the people it aims to benefit, shaping the trial so that it is meaningful, accessible, and sensitive to the complexities faced by parents navigating mental health challenges.

Meeting monthly, the panel works in close partnership with the wider research team, offering reflections and offering possible solutions on study design, participant materials, recruitment approaches, and the overall direction of the project. Panel members help identify potential barriers for parents taking part, suggest ways to make the research more equitable, inclusive and diverse, providing interpretation of emerging insights through a real‑life lens. Their contributions help ensure that the IBPI Trial is not only academically robust but also genuinely informed by the voices of parents with bipolar disorder, strengthening the relevance, impact, and ethical quality of the research.