Group therapy for patients with bipolar disorder and substance dependence:Results of a pilot study

Background: The authors' goal was to pilot test a newly developed manual-ba sed group psychotherapy, called Integrated Group Therapy (IGT), for patient s with bipolar disorder and substance dependence. Method: In this open trial, patients with DSM-IV bipolar disorder and subst ance dependence (N = 45) were recruited in sequential blocks to receive eit her group therapy (N = 21) or 6 monthly assessments, but no experimental tr eatment (N = 24). Results: When compared with patients who did not receive group therapy, pat ients who received IGT had significantly better outcomes on the Addiction S everity Index drug composite score (p < .03), percentage of months abstinen t (p < .01), and likelihood of achieving 2 (p < .002) or 3 (p < .004) conse cutive abstinent months. Conclusion: IGT is a promising treatment for patients with bipolar disorder and substance dependence, who have traditionally had poor outcomes. It is unclear, however, how much of the improvement among the group therapy patie nts is attributable to the specific content of the treatment. A study compa ring this treatment with another active psychotherapy treatment is warrante d.