Exercise and Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that has a very wide prevalence in the population. Currently, the mainstream therapy for bipolar disorder is medication. However, significant side effects have been found. Several non-pharmacological therapies have gained widespread attention in recent years, including psychotherapy and exercise intervention. This chapter reviews the current knowledge on the mechanisms, and efficacy of psychotherapy and exercise interventions affecting bipolar disorder. It also provides an outlook on the limitations and future development of psychotherapy and exercise intervention. The review concludes that although there have been a considerable number of studies discussing both therapies in the management of bipolar disorder. However, most of the studies suffer from low sample sizes and insufficient levels of evidence. The research and application of psychotherapy and exercise interventions in the bipolar disorder population are still in their early stages.