Monday, May 13, 2013

The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families

Wes Burgess, The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families: Real-Life Questions with Up-to-Date Answers. New York, Avery, 2008. 276 pages.  ISBN: 9781583333075.

The Bipolar Handbook for Children, Teens, and Families contains hundreds of questions asked by Bipolar children, teens, and their families. The book operates as a friendly conversation between a "trusted family physician" and the bipolar child and his family. Wes Burgess is a practicing psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of the bipolar disorder. He has been a specialist in bipolar treatment for over twenty years.

Chapter one describes the bipolar disorder. Chapter two tells how to get the right diagnosis. Finding the right specialist for your child is the topic in chapter three. Chapters four through six provides information on ways to improve the disorder: healthy lifestyle, medical treatment, and psychotherapy. Chapter seven provides practical "strategies for parenting your bipolar child." Other chapters discuss school, teens, "crisis management," and how the "bipolar child thinks."

Bipolar Handbook is reader-friendly. It does not use specialized terminology. It doesn't emphasize anecdotes but provides much helpful information on treating children and teens with bipolar. The author wrote an earlier Bipolar Handbook for adults. The author is knowledgeable about his topic. He shows how medicine and psychotherapy combined is more fruitful than psychotherapy alone. This book is highly recommended for bipolar children and adults who work with them.

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